Steven Stein likes to follow garbage trucks． His strange habit makes sense when you consider that he's an environmental scientist who studies how to reduce litter，including things that fall off garbage trucks as they drive down the road． What is even more interesting is that one of Stein's jobs is defending an industry behind the plastic shopping bag．

    Americans use more than 100 billion thin film plastic bags every year． So many end up in tree branches or along highways that a growing number of cities do not allow them at checkouts （收银台）． The bags are prohibited in some 90 cities in California， including Los Angeles． Eyeing these headwinds， plastic﹣bag makers are hiring scientists like Stein to make the case that their products are not as bad for the planet as most people assume．

    Among the bag makers' arguments： many cities with bans still allow shoppers to purchase paper bags， which are easily recycled but require more energy to produce and transport． And while plastic bags may be ugly to look at， they represent a small percentage of all garbage on the ground today．

    The industry has also taken aim at the product that has appeared as its replacement： reusable shopping bags． The stronger a reusable bag is， the longer its life and the more plastic﹣bag use it cancels out． However， longer﹣lasting reusable bags often require more energy to make． One study found that a cotton bag must be used at least 131 times to be better for the planet than plastic．

    Environmentalists don't dispute（质疑） these points． They hope paper bags will be banned someday too and want shoppers to use the same reusable bags lor years．

We’ve all been there: in a lift, in line at the bank or on an airplane, surrounded by people who are, like us, deeply focused on their smartphones or, worse, struggling with the uncomfortable silence.

What’s the problem? It’s possible that we all have compromised conversational intelligence. It’s more likely that none of us start a conversation because it’s awkward and challenging, or we think it’s annoying and unnecessary. But the next time you find yourself among strangers, consider that small talk is worth the trouble. Experts say it’s an invaluable social practice that results in big benefits.

Dismissing small talk as unimportant is easy, but we can’t forget that deep relationships wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for casual conversation. Small talk is the grease (润滑剂) for social communication, says Bernardo Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast. “Almost every great love story and each big business deal begins with small talk,” he explains. “The key to successful small talk is learning how to connect with others, not just communicate with them.”

In a 2014 study, Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at UBC, invited people on their way into a coffee shop. One group was asked to seek out an interaction (互动) with its waiter; the other, to speak only when necessary. The results showed that those who chatted with their server reported significantly higher positive feelings and a better coffee shop experience. “It’s not that talking to the waiter is better than talking to your husband,” say Dunn. “But interactions with peripheral (边缘的) members of our social network matter for our well-being also.”

Dunn believes that people who reach out to strangers feel a significantly greater sense of belonging, a bond with others. Carducci believes developing such a sense of belonging starts with small talk. “Small talk is the basis of good manners,” he says.

Children as young as ten are becoming dependent on social media for their sense of self﹣worth，a major study warned．

    It found many youngsters（少年）now measure their status by how much public approval they get online， often through "like"． Some change their behavior in real life to improve their image on the web．

    The report into youngsters aged from 8 to 12 was carried out by Children's Commissioner （专员）Anne Longfield． She said social media firms were exposing children to major emotional risks，with some youngsters starting secondary school ill﹣equipped to cope with the tremendous pressure they faced online．

    Some social apps were popular among the children even though they supposedly require users to be at least 13．The youngsters admitted planning trips around potential photo﹣opportunities and then messaging friends﹣and friends of friends﹣to demand "likes" for their online posts．

    The report found that youngsters felt their friendships could be at risk if they did not respond to social media posts quickly， and around the clock．

    Children aged 8 to 10 were "starting to feel happy" when others liked their posts． However，those in the 10 to 12 age group were "concerned with how many people like their posts"， suggesting a "need" for social recognition that gets stronger the older they become．

    Miss Longfield warned that a generation of children risked growing up "worried about their appearance and image as a result of the unrealistic lifestyles they follow on platforms， and increasingly anxious about switching off due to the constant demands of social media"．

    She said： "Children are using social media with family and friends and to play games when they are in primary school． But what starts as fun usage of apps turns into tremendous pressure in real social media interaction at secondary school．"

    As their world expanded． she said，children compared themselves to others online in a way that was "hugely damaging in terms of their self﹣identity， in terms of their confidence， but also in terms of their ability to develop themselves"．

    Miss Longfield added： "Then there is this push to connect﹣if you go offline， will you miss something， will you miss out， will you show that you don't care about those people you are following，all of those come together in a huge way at once．"

    "For children it is very， very difficult to cope with emotionally．" The Children's Commissioner for England's study﹣Life in Likes﹣found that children as young as 8 were using social media platforms largely for play．

    However， the research﹣involving eight groups of 32 children aged 8 to 12﹣suggested that as they headed toward their teens， they became increasingly anxious online．

    By the time they started secondary school﹣at age 11﹣children were already far more aware of their image online and felt under huge pressure to ensure their posts were popular， the report found．

    However， they still did not know how to cope with mean﹣spirited jokes， or the sense of incompetence they might feel if they compared themselves to celebrities（名人）or more brilliant friends online． The report said they also faced pressure to respond to messages at all hours of the day﹣especially at secondary school when more youngsters have mobile phones．

    The Children's Commissioner said schools and parents must now do more to prepare children for the emotional minefield（雷区）they faced online． And she said social media companies must also "take more responsibility"． They should either monitor their websites better so that children do not sign up too early，  or they should adjust their websites to the needs of younger users．

    Javed Khan， of children's charity Bamardo's， said： "It's vital that new compulsory age﹣appropriate relationship and sex education lessons in England should help equip children to deal with the growing demands of social media．

    "It's also hugely important for parents to know which apps their children are using．"

请阅读下面文字，并按照要求用英语写一篇150 词左右的文章．

Li Jiang 6 July， Sunny    Our family will go on a trip next month and need a suitcase． Two days ago， Mom asked me to find relevant information on the internet． But the information I got was rich and varied， or even contradictory． Confused， I simply based my decision on the ratings． Within five minutes， we ordered the one we were satisfied with． This afternoon， Mom received the case and told me she liked it very much．

Su Hua 6 July， Sunny

    This morning， our family went out， hanging round in the downtown area． We found a rating of the Top Ten Restaurants， and went into one of them． We spent quite a lot of money， but were not happy． Mom complained a lot， and said that despite its high ratings， the food was not to our taste． I was puzzled． Should I believe in these ratings， or should I not？

【写作内容】

1． 用约30个词概括上述利用排名（ratings）进行消费的现象；

2． 谈谈你如何看待消费排名，然后用2﹣3个理由或论据支撑你的看法．

【写作要求】

1． 写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；

2． 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；

3． 不必写标题．

【评分标准】

内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当．

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee’s report，released last week，has blamed firms for making people sign up to long incomprehensible legal contracts and calls for an international standard or kitemark（认证标记）to identify sites that have clear terms and conditions．

“The term and conditions statement that we all carelessly agree to is meaningless drivel to anyone，”says Andrew Miller，the chair of the committee．Instead，he says，firms should provide a plain﹣English version of their terms．The simplified version would be checked by a third party and awarded a kitemark if it is an accurate reflection of the original．

It is not yet clear who would administer the scheme，but the UK government is looking at introducing it on a voluntary basis．“we need to think through how we make that work in practice，”says Miller．

Would we pay any more attention to a kitemark？“I think if you went and did the survey，people would like to think they would，”says Nigel Shadbolt at the University of Southampton，UK，who studies open data．“We do know people worry a lot about the inappropriate use of their information．”But what would happen in practice is another matter，he says．

Other organisations such as banks ask customers to sign long contracts they may not read or understand，but Miller believes social media requires special attention because it is so new．“We still don’t know how significant the long﹣term impact is going to be of unwise things that kids put on social media that come back and bite them in 20years’time，”he says．

Shadbolt，who gave evidence to the committee，says the problem is that we don’t know how companies will use our data because their business models and uses of data are still evolving．Large collections of personal information have become valuable only recently，he says．

The shock and anger when a social media firm does something with data that people don’t expect，even if users have apparently permission，show that the current situation isn’t working．If properly administered，a kitemark on terms and conditions could help people know what exactly they are signing up to．Although they would still have to actually read them．

1．描述调研数据；

2．分析可能导致这一结果的原因

Why College Is Not Home

The college years are supposed to be a time for important growth in autonomy（自主性） and the development of adult identity．However，now they are becoming an extended period of adolescence，during which many of today’s students and are not shouldered with adult responsibilities．

For previous generations，college was decisive break from parental control； guidance and support needed help from people of the same age and from within．In the past two decades，however，continued connection with and dependence on family，thanks to cellphones，email and social media，have increased significantly．Some parents go so far as to help with coursework．Instead of promoting the idea of college as a passage from the shelter of the family to autonomy and adult responsibility，universities have given in to the idea that they should provide the same environment as that of the home．

To prepare for increased autonomy and responsibility，college needs to be a time of exploration and experimentation．This process involves “trying on” new ways of thinking about oneself both e intellectually（在思维方面） and personally．While we should provide “safe spaces” within colleges，we must also make it safe to express opinions and challenge majority views．Intellectual growth and flexibility are fostered on debate and questioning．

Learning to deal with the social world is equally important．Because a college community（群体） differs from the family，many students will struggle to find a sense of belonging．If students rely on administrators to regulate their social behavior and thinking pattern，they are not facing the challenge of finding an identity within a larger and complex community．

Moreover，the tendency for universities to monitor and shape student behavior runs up against another characteristic of young adults：the response to being controlled by their elders．If acceptable social behavior is too strictly defined（规定） and controlled，the insensitive or aggressive behavior that administrators are seeking to minimize may actually be encouraged．

It is not surprising that young people are likely to burst out，particularly when there are reasons to do so．Our generation once joined hands and stood firm at times of national emergency．What is lacking today is the conflict between adolescent’s desire for autonomy and their understanding of an unsafe world．Therefore，there is the desire for their dorms to be replacement homes and not places to experience intellectual growth．

Every college discussion about community values，social climate and behavior should include recognition of the developmental importance of student autonomy and self﹣regulation，of the necessary tension between safety and self﹣discovery．

What’s the author’s attitude toward continued parental guidance to college students？

The underlined word “passage” in Paragraph 2 means 　　．

According to the author，what role should college play？

Which of the following shows the development of ideas in the passage？