1 . What is your understanding of self-control? How do you think it works? Do you think your self-control ability is limited or unlimited? Do you believe that after a long day you run out of energy, and you need to rest to get it refueled (补充燃料)? If this is the case, then you have a limited theory (理论) of self-control.
Do you think that challenging activities don’t easily lose your energy? In that case you have a non-limited theory.
In an experiment, researchers divided students into two groups based on their self-control theory and followed them during a term. Outside the exam period, there were no differences between the two groups. However, when requirements were high, students with a limited theory procrastinated (拖延) more, achieved a lower GPA (grade-point average) and ate more unhealthy food.
Theories about self-control become a self-fulfilling prediction. If you think that self-control is limited, then you will give in to temptations (诱惑) more easily and find it harder to realize your goals. On the other hand, if you have a non-limited theory, you will be more successful with your goals.
Interestingly, both ‘non-limited’ and ‘limited’ theorists feel just as tired immediately after exercising self-control. However, ‘non-limited’ theorists don’t take their feelings as a sign that they have depleted a limited resource and need to rest. In fact, they believe that a day full of challenging tasks ‘activates’ their self-control skills, which leaves them refreshed and more willing to make effort the next day.
It seems that there’s a clear benefit to having the ‘right’ beliefs about self-control. How can you change your self-control theory?
If you’re willing towards a ‘limited’ theory, we suggest that you try to persuade yourself or a friend that if they use effortless strategies, then self-control is not easily run out. Researchers have managed to experimentally control students’ self-control theories.
There’s another, probably more powerful way to change your self-control theory. In a series of experiments, researchers asked participants to do an easy (e.g. keeping a diary) or a difficult (e.g. not eating sweets) task for 2 weeks. Before and after this period, they measured their self-control theories and self-control strength. Interestingly, the participants who did the more effortful task changed their beliefs toward the ‘limited’ theory by the end of the experiment. As a result, they made less effort in the final self-control task.
This study shows that when we experience a lot of effort, it may act as a signal telling us that our self-control ability is limited. This in turn makes it more difficult for us to exercise self-control in the future. Therefore, if you use the more effortless strategies, you can automatically shape your self-control theory to be more non-limited, naturally improving your self-control.
1. If you believe your self-control ability is unlimited, you’ll feel ________.| A．calm after the experiments | B．satisfied after long-distance race |
| C．confused by self-control activities | D．energetic after self-control tasks |
| A．the two groups of students got the same scores in the experiments |
| B．beliefs about self-control changed the ability to avoid temptations |
| C．students with a limited theory achieved more confidence and trusts |
| D．students with a non-limited theory easily succeeded in the experiment |
| A．created | B．saved | C．collected | D．emptied |
| A．you can change your beliefs to become more unlimited |
| B．there’s a clear benefit to improve your skills and abilities |
| C．you can use the effortless strategies to realize your goals |
| D．you should persuade yourself to change the learning strategies |
Have you ever seen shadow plays? The shadow play is one of the oldest puppet performances in China. It was a popular folk drama in ancient China and also the ancestor (祖先) of the films in the world.
Shadow plays were once a popular form of entertainment, and they were also used for religious (宗教) and instructional purposes. Simple to perform, dramas were played out on screens or walls for thousands of years, and the shadow play is still performed in China today.
A simple lamp and a thin screen were all that were needed for a stage. Things like people, animals, furniture, walls and plants were shown on the screen by placing figurines or figures made of cardboard or leather in front of the lamp.
The lamp lighted the screen from behind, and people could move little figurines around for theatrical performances. With added music and sound effects, the plays could be quite entertaining if they were well performed. These were ancient dramas or cartoons, and they were even colorized for added entertainment by using colored translucent (半透明的) figurines. The lamp light cast a colored shadow.
One can imagine that stone-age people sat next to campfires and watched stories played out on rock walls by shadows cast by using their hands or figurines.
It is said that the Mongols in the 13th century liked to watch shadow plays in their camps. They took the entertainment with them, and it became a popular entertainment in the Yuan Empire of the 13th century.
Shadow plays were performed in France when French missionaries (传教士) returned from China in 1767 and put on performances in Paris and Marseilles. It is said that this is how the shadow play was introduced to Europe. The plays were popular in France, and they were called “Chinese Shadows” at first.
Nowadays, performers use plastics, computer controlled lightning and machinery, and modern paint and dyes to produce bright and colorful shadow figures. They can produce images that are controlled by computers, and these can be used for animation and entertainment effects in plays. It is difficult for shadow puppeteers to compete with modern entertainment technologies for an audience, but some of them are using modern materials and adopting technology to help stage interesting entertainment in China.
1. What were shadow plays used for?2. How were shadow plays introduced to Europe?
3. What challenge do shadow puppeteers meet?
4. Would you like to watch shadow plays? Why? (At least two reasons)
3 . Jim, a successful businessman, told us the experience of his childhood (童年).
When he was 12, his parents died. He was
One day as he walked down the street, a young lady was walking in front of him. Suddenly one of her bags dropped (掉落) from her arms. As she stopped to
A
“Thank you, dear! You are a nice little boy!” he repeated (重复) the woman’s words. Then he said them to his dog in a low voice, “You are a nice little dog!” Lucky raised its ears and it seemed that it
“Uh! Even a dog likes it!” he said, “Well, Lucky, I won’t say unkind words to you any more.” Lucky wagged its tail happily.
The boy thought and thought. Finally he looked at himself in the river. He saw nothing but a dirty boy. He washed his
After telling this, the businessman stopped for a while, and then he said, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the very place, where that kind woman
| A．sad | B．surprised | C．mad | D．happy |
| A．look | B．pick | C．set | D．dress |
| A．serious | B．relaxed | C．bored | D．special |
| A．watched | B．taught | C．caught | D．helped |
| A．realized | B．imagined | C．understood | D．remembered |
| A．clothes | B．hair | C．face | D．feet |
| A．wish | B．life | C．dog | D．friend |
| A．found | B．changed | C．made | D．planted |
4 . 中国传统节日是中华民族悠久历史文化的组成部分，包括春节、元宵节、端午节、中秋节等，形式多样，内容丰富。
假设你是李华。你校英语社团正在开展中国传统节日宣传活动，请你用英语写一篇发言稿，介绍一个你最喜欢的中国传统节日，内容包括你最喜欢的中国传统节日是什么，在这个节日里人们通常都做些什么，以及你喜欢这个节日的原因。
提示词语：play, relax, enjoy提示问题：
●What is your favourite Chinese traditional festival?
●What do people usually do during this festival?
●Why do you like this festival?
Hello, everyone. Today I’d like to introduce my favourite Chinese traditional festival. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you!
5 . In the live-streaming(直播) video of Yang Weiyun, no singing or dancing is performed nor are products sold. Yang teaches pinyin, reading and writing, something that has been most common to her for the past 50 years. The difference is her students are mostly adults.
The 73-year-old used to be a Chinese teacher. After retirement (退休), Yang wanted to do something meaningful. The rise of short video platforms (平台) gave her the idea of continuing her teaching online. At first, she offered free pinyin lessons for kids. However, she gradually learned among her fans there are many illiterate (不识字的) adults. So she decided to give lessons online for adults. Yang said she found many illiterate adults develop a sense of shame (羞愧的).
They are afraid to go to new places, worried that they couldn’t teach their children. So she added more information in her lessons to meet their needs.
“Many illiterate adults didn’t have the chance to go to school when they were young. They are the ones in need of learning words. I wanted to give them a new starting point,” Yang said.
Considering that most adult students have to make time to attend the lessons, Yang holds two live-streaming lessons every day starting at 8: 30 am and 8: 30 pm. Now she has nearly 300,000 fans on the short video platform Douyin.
Zhang Mei who was born and raised in the countryside is one of them. She had never been to school. She watches Yang’s live-streaming whenever she has spare time. Now she can read Chinese characters with pinyin and she has found a job.
Yang always prepares her classes carefully, for the students learning through her videos have their own needs. Yang said she tried her best to find out what ways the students can learn and remember better, and her biggest wish now is to see these students graduate (毕业) from her classes.
1. What does Yang Weiyun teach in the live-streaming lessons?2. Why did she decide to give lessons online for adults?
3. When does Yang’s live-streaming lessons start every day?
4. What do you think of Yang? And why?
6 . People use laughter to communicate with others. It’s how we tell friends that we find their jokes funny, or how kids in a park show that they are having fun. Humans laugh to express many kinds of feelings, from happy to sad, from like to hate and so on. But how about animals? Do they also laugh? If they do laugh, is there a connection between animals’ laughing and playing?
A study shows that not only humans but also some animals enjoy good laughter. Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA, suggested that a number of animals can laugh. Through their research, they found that 65 kinds or groups of animals laugh while playing. The animals that laugh the most include monkeys, rats and dolphins.
Animal sound sometimes is like a short laughter, but scientists said that not all of these are connected to playing. After all, animals sometimes make sound as if they are laughing but in fact, they are in danger, or perhaps they are using it to fight with animals that may eat them.
Sasha Winkler, a scientist studying animal behavior, noticed that the small monkeys she worked with liked to play together by catching each other. While having fun together, they made panting sounds, almost like they were out of breath, which reminded Winkler of quiet laughter. In that sense, researchers pointed out very interesting ideas of laughter and panting. They believe that laughter comes from heavy breathing during play.
Study suggests that many animals laugh so that their playing partner knows they are having fun. This is important because animal play can sometimes look like fighting. Laughter becomes a way for animals to stop harmful act when communicating with others. Some animals also make a “play face” like a smile to show that they are happy and not angry.
One big difference between human laughter and animal laughter is that humans laugh much more loudly. Most sounds animals make during play are very quiet so they can only be heard by the animal they are playing with. But for humans, loud laughter is a sign that we’re part of a group. “It’s really amazing that so many animals have a similar function of sound during play,” said Winkler. “These special parts of animal laughter will also be an important area for future study.”
1. Animals sometimes make sound as if they are laughing when they want to _______.| A．hide their true feelings |
| B．play tricks on their partners |
| C．interest more partners to join in |
| D．warn animals that may eat them |
| A．loud | B．quiet | C．breathless |
| A．All kinds of animals laugh when they are playing. |
| B．It can be a way for animals to stop harmful act. |
| C．Animals make sound of laugh louder than humans. |
| D．It usually shows they are happy and not angry. |
| A．To lead to the topic of future research on laughter. |
| B．To show the function of animal laugh during play. |
| C．To explain that loud laughter is a sign for people to be in a group. |
| D．To suggest that human should train animals to laugh while playing. |
Introductions of the Museums
A Art MuseumYou can enjoy all kinds of Chinese artworks in this museum. There are all kinds of paintings and many unusual objects. It is amazing to see many beautiful things here. It is really a world of colour pictures. You can also learn to make your own artworks here. | B Science MuseumDo you like robots? Then, you can come here. You will learn about the latest technology and maths as well as physics and chemistry. You can also do experiments here If you need answers to all your questions about science, this is the right place for you. |
C Folk MuseumAre you interested in Chinese traditional culture? If yes, the Folk Museum is a good place to visit. There are about 300 rooms of different styles of the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. You can also enjoy the folk activities there when it comes to Chinese festivals such as the Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and so on. | D Natural History MuseumIf you want to learn about the topics of humans, animals and plants, you can come to the Natural History Museum. It houses a collection of more than 370,000 items. You will see some creatures you never see before. The “Dinosaur World” interests lots of visitors, especially the kids. |
| I enjoy painting very much and I am happy to learn from famous artworks and try to make one by myself. | |
| I’m interested in all kinds of dinosaurs and expect to see the natural world in ancient times. | |
| I want to know more about the traditional festivals and I’d like to see the rooms from different dynasties. |
8 . 中国有悠久的历史文化，中国节日是传统文化的重要组成部分。现在某校英语网站正在以“My Favorite Chinese Traditional Festival”为题进行征文活动。请你用英语写征文，介绍—个你最喜欢的中国传统节日春节、端午节、中秋节等，以及节日期间的传统活动和你的感受。
提示词语：the Spring Festival, put up, prepare, dinner, set off, wish, happy
提示问题：
•What’s your favorite Chinese traditional festival?
•What do you do during the festival?
•How do you feel?
My Favorite Chinese Traditional Festival
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9 . As the world of technology is developing very fast, it brings out exciting new inventions which are building a better future. From e-books to robots, the newest inventions are pushing the boundaries (边界) of what we thought was possible. In this article, there are some of these amazing new inventions. Let’s find out the latest and greatest inventions that are shaping our future.
Smart Schoolbag
Forget to pack the books you need into your schoolbag in the morning huh?
A schoolboy aged 11 has invented a schoolbag. It tells you which books to pack. A small computer and a scanner (扫描装置) are fixed in the bag. As each book is put into the bag, it is checked by the scanner. If any book is missing, a message will be shown on the computer screen to remind you.
Weather Sweets
Can you eat weather?
A university makes that happen. It uses a 3D printer to create sweets based on the weather information of a certain day.
The shapes of the sweets are affected (影响) by wind speed. The colors of the sweets are decided by temperature. The sweets act as a weather record of the day when they are made.
Sunrise Bed
It’s hard for you to get up in the morning, isn’t it?
To help you get up, a company has created a kind of “future”—a sunrise bed. It wakes you up gently as a sunrise does. Lights built into the bed turn on and start to get brighter and brighter. When the lights are fully on, soft music will begin to play. It will be louder and louder until you turn it off. The company explains, “The gentle light tells your body that it is morning, so it stops producing a chemical that helps you sleep.”
It’s exciting to think about all the amazing new inventions that are changing our world. These new technologies are making life easier, more fun and more connected and they make the future look bright.
1. According to the passage, the Smart Schoolbag can _______.| A．help you repair computers |
| B．tell you when to pack books |
| C．teach you how to fix scanners |
| D．remind you of the missing books |
| A．The Smart Schoolbag scans books all by itself. |
| B．Wind speed can decide the colors of Weather Sweets. |
| C．People create a better future with these new technologies. |
| D．The gentle light of Sunrise Bed helps people to sleep. |
| A．Introduction of the newest inventions. |
| B．Importance of technology companies. |
| C．Purpose of changing our world. |
| D．Development of smart schools. |
10 . 
I have a golden dog named Bobby. He is an amazing dog and once saved me.
I usually take him to a big natural park when I have time.He can remember all the routes (路线) in the park. When I park my car outside the park, he always jumps out of the car with excitement and goes in front of me,knowing where I would go.
One day, I left the car in the same place to take a walk in the park. But Bobby seemed very strange. He didn’t want to go ahead in the park. I tried to call him but he just sat and kept barking at me. So I said, “Then, I will keep walking ahead.” I walked about 200 meters away while he was still barking. Then he suddenly rushed towards me, bit (咬) my trousers and crazily tried to pull my leg. He didn’t let me take another step.
At last I had to give up walking ahead, but I still didn’t understand his action.“OK, you don’t want me to walk today. Let’s go home then.” He quickly went back towards the car, but he stopped every a few meters to see whether I was following him. Then, we went home safely.
I couldn’t understand what he did in the park until the next morning. I was siting in a coffee shop and reading the newspaper. In the front﹣page was a big photo of a black bear. The reporter said that it appeared in the same park that day. “There was no accident and we took him out of the park.” A policeman said to the reporter. So now, I knew why Bobby was always tying to go ahead in the park. I didn’t see or hear any black bear. However, Bobby did very early！
Treat your dogs with kindness. Some day they will help you and even save you.
1. What does the writer think of the dog? _______| A．Strange. | B．Amazing. |
| C．Expensive. | D．Crazy. |
| A．sat and kept barking at the writer |
| B．went back and towards the car |
| C．rushed towards the big black bear |
| D．wanted to go ahead as usual |
| A．Dogs are naughty and they have good sense of smell. |
| B．Dogs always want to go in front of their owners. |
| C．We should study dogs’ habits to know them. |
| D．We should treat our dogs with kindness in our life. |
