Section C Reading in Depth
Read the following three passages carefully and then do the exercises below.
PASSAGE 1
Across Europe， about 46% of children 9 to 16 own a smartphone， according to a study published in the journal New Media ＆ Society in 2015. The study surveyed about 3，500 children in Belgium， Denmark， Ireland， Italy， Portugal， Romania and the United Kingdom between 2013 and 2014.“Back in 2014，around 80% of children owned either a mobile phone or a smartphone； 46% owned a smartphone and 33% a mobile phone，” said Giovanna Mascheroni， a senior lecturer at the Università Cattolica of Milan in Italy and lead author of the study.
Yet， she added， there were differences across countries in how much children were allowed to use their smartphones in school and other places. “Children in Italy and the UK were more likely to be restricted at school. They had no access to Wi⁃Fi and had to turn off their smartphones， whereas children in Denmark reported using the smartphone for class activities more frequently，” Mascheroni said. “Children in Portugal were more affected by the economic crisis， so they reported not having an Internet plan any longer because it was too expensive，” she said. “In general， though， children across countries were sensitive to costs.They used Wi⁃Fi networks when possible and switched 3G or 4G off to save money and power.”
In the United States， cell phone ownership seems to begin at a younger age. A separate report released last month by the nonprofit organization Common Sense Media found that 42% of US children 8 and younger now have their own tablet devices. Those numbers came as no shock to Douglas Gentile， a psychology professor at Iowa State University who was not involved in the new report but has studied the effects of media use on children. “It's not surprising， because it's what we look around ourselves and can see. I can see it at the airport，for example. I can see it at restaurants， and I can even see it in my own home where my younger daughter watches almost no television， but she'll watch lots of TV shows on her phone，” Gentile told CNN in October.
Outside the US and Europe， children tend to own their first mobile phones when they are older. In South Korea， about 72% of children owned a smartphone by ages 11 to 12， and they would spend up to 5.4 hours a day on them， according to a study published last year in the journal Computers in Human Behavior. In comparison， adults reported spending about 3.8 hours on their phones， according to the study. “It seems that Korean children start to have their own mobile phone around second to third grade， and by the time they become fourth⁃graders， most of them have mobile phones，” said Yoori Hwang， a researcher at Myongji University in Seoul and lead author of the study.
1. Which is the best title for this passage？
A. More Children Are Using Smart Phones in America
B. Children Across Countries Were Sensitive to Costs
C. Effect of Economic Crisis on Mobile Phones
D. Cell Phone Ownership Among the Children Around the World
2. In which country do children own mobile phones at a younger age？
A. Denmark. B. America. C. Korea. D. Italy.
3. Why did children in Portugal not have an Internet plan any longer？
A. Because they were bored with smartphones.
B. Because they didn't have money to buy a smartphone.
C. Because it was too costly to access Internet.
D. Because they were not allowed to use smartphones in school.
4. Why was Douglas Gentile not surprised by the fact that 42% of US children 8 and younger now have their own tablet devices？
A. Because he became accustomed to seeing children using smartphones.
B. Because he was not interested in the effects of media use on children.
C. Because the percentage was not high compared with that of other countries.
D. Because he seldom saw children using smartphones.
5. Which statement would the author agree with？
A. Adults reported spending less time on their phones than children did in South Korea.
B. Children in the UK reported using the smartphone for class activities frequently.
C. Outside the US and Europe， children tend to own their first mobile phones at a younger age.
D. Children had no access to Wi⁃Fi and had to turn off their smartphones in Denmark.
PASSAGE 2
Scientists have been vastly underestimating the amount of methane （甲烷） humans are emitting into the atmosphere through fossil fuels， according to research. The analysis published in the journal Nature shows methane emissions from fossil fuels owing to human activity is around 25 percent to 40 percent higher than thought.
But researchers believe their findings offer hope， saying stricter regulations to curb methane emissions could help reduce future global warming to “a larger extent than previously thought”. Benjamin Hmiel， a professor of earth and environmental science at the University of Rochester and one of the study authors， said： “I don't want to get too hopeless on this because my data does have a positive implication： most of the methane emissions are anthropogenic， so we have more control. If we can reduce our emissions， it's going to have more of an impact.”
Methane emissions to the atmosphere have increased by around 150 percent over the past three centuries， according to the researchers. Determining how much of these heat⁃trapping emissions originate from human activity has been a challenge for scientists as methane can be emitted naturally， from biological sources such as wetlands or animals.
Prof Hmiel and his colleagues used ice core measurements from Greenland from between 1750 and 2013 and previous data from Antarctica. Ice core samples contain air bubbles with small quantities of ancient air trapped inside， which can act like time capsules. The researchers use a melting chamber to extract the ancient air from the bubbles and then analyze its chemical composition. They found that almost all of the methane emitted into the atmosphere had been biological until about 1870， around the time when humans started using fossil fuel. They also found that methane emissions from fossil fuels are underestimated by about 38⁃58 billion kilograms per year.
Methane is the second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide， but it has a relatively short shelf⁃life as it lasts an average of only nine years in the atmosphere，while carbon dioxide can persist for about a century. According to the researchers， this makes methane “an especially suitable target for curbing emission levels in a short time⁃frame”.
Phillip Williamson， an honorary reader at the University of East Anglia， who was not involved in the study， said： “These results indicate that human activities are inadvertently responsible for much more of the problem of rising methane. Yet that is actually good news since it should mean that there are now greater incentives to prevent methane leaks from oil and gas extraction. Furthermore， the phase⁃out of these fossil fuels on the pathway to net⁃zero will bring the bonus of reducing atmospheric methane more rapidly than we had expected.”
1. Which is the best title for this passage？
A. Why Air Pollution Is Getting Worse
B. Good News About Methane Emissions
C. The Cause of Global Warming
D. More Methane Emissions in the Atmosphere
2. The word “anthropogenic” （Line 6， Para. 2） is closest in meaning to________.
A. related to animals
B. originating from human activity
C. heat⁃trapping
D. emitted naturally
3. When was methane first emitted from fossil fuels？
A. 1750. B. 2013.
C. 1870. D. Nine years ago.
4. What is the main purpose of Para. 5？
A. To explain why reducing methane is the key to curbing emission levels in a short time⁃frame.
B. To emphasize that methane is a major cause of global warming.
C. To emphasize that methane lasts relatively a short time in the atmosphere.
D. To show that carbon dioxide has a stronger influence on the atmosphere that methane does.
5. What is the researchers' attitude towards reducing global warming？
A. Indifferent. B. Negative.
C. Pessimistic. D. Optimistic.
PASSAGE 3
Parents are being told to turn to iPads and Kindles to get boys interested in reading amid fears large numbers of children are shunning （避开） books at a young age.
A report from the National Literacy Trust found that children aged three to five often read for longer and had a better grasp of vocabulary when accessing touch⁃screen technology.The study found that tablet computers（平板电脑） had a particular impact on groups that are traditionally most resistant to reading—particularly boys and infants from poor families.Researchers found that boys were more likely than girls to use technology for educational activities and to read for a relatively prolonged period. The study also found that more three⁃to five⁃year⁃old children now had access to e⁃readers in the home and the number of nurseries and childminders （照看孩子者） using the devices had almost doubled in the last 12 months from 22 to 41 percent. Touch⁃screen technology “could be a vital new weapon to combat low literacy in key target groups”， the study said.
But the recommendations are likely to renew concerns that exposure to screen⁃based entertainment at a young age risks damaging children's development. It came as an editorial published in the latest edition of the British Journal of General Practice warned that children were “more susceptible （易受影响的） to developing a long⁃term problematic （成问题的）dependency on technology”. The essay， by Aric Sigman， an independent lecturer in child health education， quoted research that found over⁃exposure to video games had a similar effect on the brain as cocaine （可卡因） and alcohol addiction， with extreme users showing signs of depression， anxiety and social phobia （恐惧症）.
But Jonathan Douglas， the trust's director， said it was crucial “that we recognise the opportunities that technology brings for engaging boys and poorer children in reading”. “Our research confirms that technology is playing a central role in young children's vocabulary development，” he said. “Nearly all children have access to a touch⁃screen device at home and as technology advances and digital skills become increasingly important， we need to harness these developments to encourage children to become avid （热衷的） readers，whatever format they choose.”
The study jointly carried out with the publisher Pearson was based on a survey of more than 1，000 parents with young children combined with a poll of 567 early years workers. It also analysed the link between vocabulary and reading practices among 183 three⁃ to five⁃year⁃olds. Researchers found that 6.3 percent of children only read “once or twice” a week and one percent did not read at all.
Traditional books were still the favoured reading method for all children to read but researchers suggested that boys and infants from poor homes were increasingly shifting to technology such as the iPad， Kindle， Samsung Galaxy and Microsoft Surface.
1. Researchers found that tablet computers would particularly________.
A. get infants from poor families resistant to reading
B. get childminders interested in reading
C. get boys from poor families interested in reading
D. get childminders bored with reading
2. It can be implied that touch⁃screen technology has a stronger effect on________in terms of reading.
A. boys than girls
B. girls than boys
C. boys than infants
D. girls than infants
3. Over⁃exposure to screen⁃based entertainment might cause________.
A. low literacy in key target groups
B. cocaine and alcohol addiction
C. technology advances
D. depression， anxiety and social phobia
4. Researchers found that most children________.
A. read once or twice a week
B. read more than twice a week
C. read every day
D. did not read at all
5. What is the author's attitude toward reading via electronic devices？
A. Optimistic.
B. Neutral.
C. Enthusiastic.
D. Negative.