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本文作者： 21st

A

Lisa Klein spends much of her time surrounded by mountains of brightly colored baby clothes, folding tiny T-shirts. For most parents, this is pretty routine, but Klein has a larger purpose: She’s getting infant clothing to mothers in need.

She was inspired a few days after Hurricane Katrina, when she read that a Louisiana church was asking for baby clothes for displaced families camped out on the church’s front lawn. “I instantly knew I’d found a way to help,” Klein says. She pulled together all the boxed-up outfits that her daughter, then one, had outgrown, and spread the word to a handful of friends. Within days, 200 pounds of onesies, booties, caps, sweaters, and other little items were piled up on her porch, ready to be shipped to New Orleans. Klein thought, if that’s what I can do in four days with a few friends, what if I really put my mind to it?

Not long after her second child was born, in 2007, Klein started the nonprofit group Loved Twice to collect donations of gently used baby clothes for distribution to hospitals, prenatal-care clinics, and shelters in the San Francisco Bay Area. “You’re going through so much when you have a child. But these women also have to worry about having the finances to feed the baby, buy diapers, and pay rent. We try to alleviate some of that stress, hoping it will give the mothers more time to bond with their babies.”

Now Loved Twice supplies baby clothes to 40 social service agencies assisting new mothers. Fifty more want to sign up. The group’s six collection bins fill up quickly, landing roughly 1,000 pounds of clothing in Klein’s basement every month. “My husband has been very tolerant!” she says with a laugh.

Volunteers sort the garments into boxes, each of which holds 75 items of clothing, sizes zero to 12 months, along with kid’s books and tips on child-care resources. To date, Klein’s group has sorted and delivered over 28,000 pounds of clothing to newborns in need and the clothes keep on coming, she says. Her dream is to raise enough money to rent a warehouse as a headquarters, allowing her to handle even larger amounts of clothing and more volunteers.

“I’m so happy to be able to spread awareness,” she says. “These babies deserve to be warm and clean.”

1. What can we learn about the group “Loved Twice” from the article?

A. It collects used baby clothes and sells them.

B. It helps families who suffered from Hurricane Katrina.

C. It aims to help new mothers in need in the San Francisco Bay Area.

D. Its supplies cannot meet the demand of the 40 social service agencies.

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the article?

A. She rented a warehouse as the headquarters of her volunteer group.

B. Many mothers in her neighborhood have serious financial problems.

C. Her husband was quite supportive of her nonprofit organization.

D. She doesn’t have enough time to spend with her daughters.

3. The underlined word “alleviate” in the third paragraph probably means ______.

A. react B. ease C. solve D. understand

4. Which of the following statements might Lisa Klein agree with according to the article?

A. American babies don’t get high quality clothes.

B. She could do anything if she really put her mind to it.

C. Social service agencies in the US are not doing well.

D. Much effort is still needed to help mothers in need.

B

As the e-mail hits 40, is a midlife crisis (危机) on the cards?

A few weeks ago, electronic mail, or e-mail, hit the respectable age of 40. When Ray Tomlinson, a young computer engineer, sent the first e-mail in 1971, he could only have guessed at how e-mail would have an impact on the way we communicate both in business and personal life.

E-mail has transformed the way people shop, bank, conduct business, and communicate with family members. Now an essential tool for about one billion mobile workers across the globe, e-mail continues to dominate (统治) the way in which we communicate.

Four decades since the first message, e-mail seems to be going strong. But is e-mail about to hit a midlife crisis? With web workers now using more software and social business tools to communicate and share information, are we going to see e-mail’s rule come to an end?

E-mail might be a great communication tool, but it doesn’t seem to be a tool for working with others. Anyone who has tried to bring together feedback (反馈) from many colleagues on a document over e-mail knows how painful the process can be. No one seems to remember which version the team is working on and there is always that one person who sends over some “final amendments” overnight. Hours can be wasted waiting for e-mails to go back and forth, searching through inboxes for missing documents.

Therefore, it is little wonder that web workers across the globe are turning to the likes of Dropbox, Evernote or Huddle for storing and sharing files. The demand for simplicity in the workplace has increased.

Despite all those challenges, however, removing e-mail from the workplace completely will require more than just introducing easy-to-use tools in the office. It’s so much a part of our daily working lives and moving to other tools will require a culture change. While e-mail may not dominate workplace communication for another 40 years, there’s life in it yet!

5. What does the underlined phrase “on the cards” in Paragraph 1 mean?

A. enough to destroy it B. easy to recover

C. likely to happen D. definitely about to happen

6. What is the main challenge to e-mail in the workplace?

A. It is not a widely accepted communication tool.

B. More and more easy-to-use tools are being brought in.

C. It is inconvenient for sharing files and documents.

D. It has reached its midlife crisis.

7. Which of the following statements about e-mail is TRUE?

A. Ray Tomlinson was sure that it would have great impact on communication.

B. Sometimes it’s a waste of time to wait for e-mails to go back and forth.

C. It is more influential in people’s personal lives than in business.

D. It will continue to dominate communication for another 40 years.

8. What is the main point of this article?

A. E-mail could be replaced by other tools.

B. The current situation of e-mail and the challenges it faces.

C. Why e-mail is so popular.

D. The side effects of new technology.

C

A quiet kid is often described as “shy”. But if you actually talk to “shy” kids, they often say, “I’m not shy! I just don’t want to talk to you.”

Being quiet and introverted (内向的) does not necessarily mean being shy, according to Time magazine. Shy people get nervous and anxious easily. They sometimes avoid socializing with others because they fear negative judgment. But introverts are not like that. They might hide away from people, but for a completely different reason – they simply would rather be alone than hang out with a bunch of strangers.

In a society that seems to favor more outgoing people, being introverted is often considered to be a great disadvantage. Despite this, quiet people often turn out to be more careful and to have hidden strengths of their own.

It is no coincidence (巧合), for example, that introverts often get better grades than extroverts (性格外向者). They are also usually more knowledgeable and win more prizes than extroverts, even when their IQ scores are similar.

American science writer Winifred Gallagher believes introverts tend to think twice before making a decision rather than rushing into something. “Neither E=mc2 nor Paradise Lost was dashed off (匆忙完成) by a party animal,” she said.

Children with alert and careful temperaments (性情) also tend to pay more attention to moral principles as well as to their schoolwork. They cheat less in exams and break rules less often than other kids do – even if they know they won’t get caught.

When these children grow up and become company leaders, they are often better employee managers than extroverts because they tend to encourage their employees’ ideas rather than just applying their own ideas to everything, according to a recent study by Professor Adam Grant of the University of Pennsylvania, US.

Introverts are also less likely to get into car accidents, to participate in extreme sports or to be involved in bets because they don’t tend to take dangerous risks.

But scientists stress that being introverted is not necessarily better than being outgoing. The two types of people need each other and many successful companies benefit from effective teamwork between careful introverts and bold extroverts.

9. What is the text mainly about?

A. The advantages of being shy and introverted.

B. Stereotypes (刻板印象) about introverts.

C. The differences between being shy and being introverted.

D. The characteristics and advantages of being introverted.

10. An introvert is different from a shy person and quiet in a crowd because he or she ______.

A. prefers to stay alone

B. performs worse in groups

C. is worried about being judged negatively

D. feels nervous among strangers

11. By saying “Neither E=mc2 nor Paradise Lost was dashed off by a party animal”, Winifred Gallagher shows that _____.

A. introverts don’t like to go to parties like extroverts do

B. introverts are more knowledgeable than extroverts

C. introverts usually draw a conclusion after careful thinking

D. introverts tend to achieve more than extroverts

12. According to the text, introverts _____ than extroverts.

a. often get higher IQ scores

b. behave better

c. are more likely to become company leaders

d. show more respect for their employees’ ideas

e. perform better academically at school

f. are more willing to participate in extreme sports

A. a, b, d B. b, d, e C. b, c, e D. c, e, f

D

OK, I admit it: emoticons (表情符号) are popular. Some people even think they are fun. Many seem unable to get through an e-mail or Instant Message chat sentence without using one. Some feel that they add feeling and character to otherwise cold digital communications.

Some, however, such as editor and Hollywood scriptwriter John Blumenthal, see the use of emoticons as “infantile (幼稚的) just like the people who use them”. He believes that words themselves should be enough. “If you’re being funny, happy or sad, that should be obvious from the comment that goes before the emoticon,” he argues.

In the eyes of Blumenthal, the use of emoticons is a gender (性别) issue. “Men don’t use emoticons very much. Maybe not at all,” he said. “Teenage girls and women seem to use them a lot. Maybe there’s an emoticon gene.”

It’s an interesting opinion, but it is not shared by all.

In an interview with The New York Times, Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California, said that emoticons are popular because our brains are programmed “to seek out representations of humanity”.

He believes that they appeal (吸引人) not because they are shortcuts for the lazy, but because they tap into (融入) something beyond language. They reach to our need to be with and communicate with people.

All of these arguments may be somehow valid. Each one of us will choose to communicate in our own way. I do not have much time for emoticons. I tried to use one once and felt like I was stealing in on a primary school class that I had no place being in. I’d rather let my words do the talking.

Friends, however, send me messages and e-mails full of emoticons. I have no problem with this. I don’t regard any of my friends as lazy or immature (不成熟的). It’s just a question of individuality. :)

Simon Stafford, special to 21st Century

13. According to the article, emoticons are popular because ______.

A. most of them look funny

B. they are easy for lazy people to use

C. they add feeling and character to a communication

D. a reader cannot understand a message without them

14. Which of the following views would John Blumenthal agree with?

A. Instant Message chatters are childish.

B. It’s enough to use language in digital communication.

C. Men never use emoticons.

D. There is an emoticon gene in everybody.

15. From the text, we can conclude that the author ______.

A. feels he has no difficulty using emoticons

B. thinks emoticons don’t suit him

C. encourage his friends to use emoticons

D. believes that emoticons are suitable for everyone

16. What is the main point of the article?

A. Advice on language used over the Internet.

B. The history of emoticons.

C. Arguments over the use of emoticons.

D. Reasons for the popularity of emoticons.

E

“My name is Ellie. I washed chocolate off my hands this morning.”

Once upon a time, Lent (四旬斋) was a Christian fast. From Ash Wednesday (the first day, which fell on February 22 this year), people avoided sweet, rich food during the 40 days before Easter.

Nowadays – where I am from in the UK, at least – Lent has little to do with Christianity (基督教). It has become a fashion statement. From chocolate to cigarettes, everyone gives up at least one bad habit for Lent. It’s the perfect time of year – summer is coming, and you want to look good in your bikini (比基尼) or shorts.

In China, however, when I proudly announced, “I’m giving up beer”, one friend responded with a single word: “Why?”

It took that word to make me realize how illogical (不合理的) my “doing Lent” had been. For starters, I’m not a Christian. But it’s more than that. When I look back, I realize that my various Lents always endowed (赋予) me with more bad habits to replace those I had given up. For want of chocolate, I took up coffee. Now, I can’t live without it.

But Lent’s main downside (弊端) is that it lasts 40 days. Once those 40 are up, any new leaves turned go back to the way they were.

You consume all the greasy (油腻的) food you missed – and every kilo comes back.

I had a friend who declared she was going to do a “good deed” every day in Lent, taking up something good instead of giving up something bad. So what, I ask myself, did she do after Easter? Did she sigh with relief and stop thinking of others?

The non-Lenters of Beijing carry on eating too much chocolate and partying a bit too hard, but at least they are honest about their excess (放肆的行为).

Why pretend to be virtuous (有道德的) for 40 days? Why not just carry on having fun? Leave the chocolate hand washing to the Lenters. This year, I’m giving up giving up – and not just for Lent.

By Ellie Buchdahl, 21st Century Teens staff

17. By saying “I washed chocolate off my hands this morning”, the author means that _____.

A. she just made something using chocolate

B. she has given up chocolate for Lent

C. she politely refused the chocolate that was given to her

D. it is a tradition to stop eating chocolate on the first day of Lent

18. Which of the following statements is TRUE about Lent in the UK?

A. In the UK, Lent is closely related to Christianity.

B. People often see Lent as a time to lose weight.

C. It is a perfect time of the year for people to have fun.

D. People often lose bad habits during Lent.

19. What is the main problem with Lent according to the author?

A. It limits people’s freedom.

B. It is boring and lasts too long.

C. It should encourage people to form good habits instead of giving up bad ones.

D. The bad habits people give up just come back when Lent is over.

20. What does the author think of the behavior of people in Beijing who don’t do Lent?

A. They enjoy excess and don’t care about their fitness.

B. They are lucky not to have to think of Lent.

C. They are honest about the way they live.

D. They should reflect upon their lifestyles.

（答案详解见C8版）