【推荐1】We all feel lonely at some point, but long-term social loneliness can damage our mental and physical health. “Loneliness is a signal that you need human connection,” says Dr. Jeremy Nobel.     1    .

Know yourself

It’s easier to connect with people if you have shared the same ideas or experiences, so start paying attention to what’s on your mind.     2    . If you know what’s meaningful for you, it may lead you to an activity or creative idea that connects you to people.

Make something

When someone says make something, you can immediately say, “Well, I’m not Picasso. I don’t know how to do a fancy painting.” And, of course, you’re not! But the opportunities for creative expression are endless. You can plant a garden or try a dance move.     3    .

Take a risk by having conversations

Share something about yourself. It doesn’t have to be the biggest or darkest part of your life, but just something you think other people might find interesting and convincing.     4    , putting yourself out there requires a bit of risk, and it’s another important step to real connection.

    5    

Whether it’s volunteering for a cause you believe in or just for fun, try to find others who share your interests. And if you follow your natural curiosities, you may find something new. Share your thoughts and feelings in creative ways with other people who have that interest.

A．Other people’s loneliness matters too

B．Find a group that matches your interests

C．Since you have shared some of your secrets

D．Here are some good tips to make connection

E．Even if you’re nervous about being judged or refused

F．Knowing yourself can be the first step to bond with others

G．Making something can express your thoughts and feelings to others

【推荐2】Failure is an unavoidable part of life. Though science has named some life skills that promise success, we’re told over and over again that no great success was ever achieved without failure—or many failed attempts. One of life’s most important lessons, therefore, has to be how to handle failure best. But what is the message?

For starters, ignore advice from anyone that tells you, “Don’t beat yourself up about it, ” no matter how well-meaning they are. According to the new research from the University of Kansas, we absolutely should be beating ourselves up when we fail. Marketing professor Noelle Nelson and her team found that the more emotional a person’s response is to failure, the more likely they are to achieve better results the next time they deal with a related task.

The researchers carried out two experiments in which undergraduate students were required to perform specific tasks. In one experiment, they were asked to search online for a squeezer and report the lowest price they could find with the possibility of winning a $50 cash prize. However, the task was controlled, and all participants were told (by a computer) that the lowest price was $3.27 less than their reported price. Consequently, no participant won the cash prize. When the results were announced,   some participants were asked to focus on their emotional response,   and others on their cognitive (认知的) response. During the next similar task, participants who focused on their emotional response to failure made more effort than those who focused on a cognitive response.

Everybody has their own unique challenges, responsibilities, duties, and projects, but these findings are related to all of us. Your personal failure may be a cake that fails to rise, a presentation that goes wrong, or a deadline that gets missed—it doesn’t matter. What matters is how you react to it. Instead of thinking about the failure, let yourself feel bad about it. Then follow this advice on how to bounce back after your failure.

1. What’s the relationship between failure and success?

A．Failure promises success.	B．Failure is the key to success.
C．Failure does damage to success.	D．Well-handled failure is good for success.

2. Why does the writer support beating oneself up when failing?

A．It’s a well-meaning suggestion for failure.

B．It’s been proved by the study of a university.

C．Being emotional is good for one’s future success.

D．It can make people less emotional about failure.

3. What is the purpose of the two experiments?

A．To test the participants’ abilities to search online.

B．To improve the participants’ cognitive response.

C．To teach the participants to avoid failures.

D．To test the benefit of emotional response to failure.

4. Which can be the best title for the passage?

A．Personal Failure Is a Cake That Fails to Appear

B．The Most Productive Way to Handle Any Failure

C．Different Methods to Change Failure into Success

D．The Reason Why Failure Is the Mother of Success

【推荐3】A Harvard study of their graduates over thirty years found that there were only a small percentage (3%) of them who actually wrote down their goals-and these were the most successful! You can be certain that every one of those students had repeatedly heard the value of goal setting. Yet only 3% actually wrote down their goals consistently. Imagine what you can do if you both write down your goals and, then, focus on them consistently, until they are accomplished!

What is it that causes the "New Year's Resolution Syndrome"? People make resolutions, work hard at them for a few weeks, maybe even a few months, and then forget them. Next year, they make the same New Year's resolutions. That is the syndrome. So why do so many people do it?

They may be making goals that are too global, and too unrealistic. The elephant analogy (比喻) is still the best one I know of to illustrate good goal setting. "How do you eat an elephant? One spoonful at a time." So it is with goals. Make spoon size goals and accomplish them easily. Once you've mastered this, get a bigger spoon!

You may have too many people in your life who consciously or subconsciously are unwilling or unable to support you to reach your goals. Surround yourself with people who want you to have what you want for yourself. Support each other and you'll all achieve your highest goals.

We must be careful not to confuse busyness with progress. Be selective about how you use your time and what you focus on. Success often comes when you know what to leave out, rather than what to include in your life.

Goal setting is like the pig and chicken who were out for a walk in town early one morning. The chicken became really excited when she saw a sign that said "Ham & Eggs, $2.99". She said to the pig, "Look, we've got double billing again." The pig grunted and said, "That's all right for you to say. For you, it's all in a day's work. For me, it's total commitment." Goal setting is all in a day's work. Goal achievement is total commitment.

1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?

A．Few Harvard students know the importance of setting goals.

B．Writing down goals is unhelpful in achieving them.

C．A very small percentage of Harvard students can succeed.

D．Keeping working on goals eventually leads to victory.

2. What can we know about New Year's resolutions?

A．They are really difficult to achieve.

B．Most people give them up halfway.

C．They should be different from year to year.

D．Most people make no effort to achieve them.

3. According to the elephant analogy, when setting goals, we should _.

A．ask for others' advice

B．set great and worthy goals

C．break a big goal into smaller pieces

D．refer to the goals we set earlier

4. What does the story of the pig and chicken imply?

A．Rome is not built in one day.

B．When the cat is away, the mice will play.

C．The early bird catches the worm.

D．Birds of a feather flock together.

5. What can be the best title for this passage?

A．Goals only work when you do!

B．Surroundings contribute to success!

C．Ways to make New Year's resolutions

D．Suggestions for setting realistic goals

【推荐2】Paris is the city of dreams, the city of love. If you are thinking of heading to Paris for a study period, then perhaps a little reality check is in order. But my experience was a romantic one.

I paved my path to Paris through an exchange program. On arrival in Paris, I was constantly reminded of the official processes I was required to complete — forms to be filled in, meetings to attend, the list seemed endless. Perhaps it was due to my well organizational habit, but somehow this endless list of to­do’s was completed in little more than a week.

Then the real work began. Once classes were underway, I found myself volunteering to do oral presentations and assignments first, rather than last. This method proved to be very helpful.

Once I had finished class for the week, I had an ever-increasing list of museums to visit, neighborhoods to explore, and cafes to sit in and parks to run around. Read as many books about Paris as you can. Talk to as many locals and other foreigners living there as you can. But the one thing that reading a book or talking to someone cannot do is to provide you with the experience of wandering Paris on foot. I discovered some of my favorite places in Paris by wandering. The people watching, the sounds of the city, the colors as the seasons change, they all add to the ecstasy that I experienced in Paris as an exchange student.

After spending five months wandering through the charming neighborhoods, I fell in love with the atmosphere that came out from every open door, and with every spoken word. There is something comforting about walking to the market each Sunday to be faced with the beautiful display of fruits, vegetables and dairy products. There is warmth in saying bonjour to the passers-by.

On my last day in Paris, I confidently said, “Bonjour Monsieur,” as I passed the little store down the street. I guess no matter how hard I tried I was always going to be an outsider, a tourist. The best part about going on exchange in Paris is falling in love with the city in your own way. Everyone’s experience of Paris is different. I know mine is unique and special to me, my own little pieces of Paris.

1. What does the underlined word “ecstasy” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Courage.	B．Imagination.
C．Happiness.	D．Reputation.

2. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．An exchange student’s life.

B．Charming neighborhoods.

C．An exchange program.

D．A traveling experience.

3. Beyond reading books, which experience would the author treasure most?

A．Enjoying coffee in his spare time.

B．Greeting people in French in the street.

C．Buying vegetables in the market.

D．Hanging around in Paris.

4. According to the passage, what left the author the deepest impression?

A．The friendly people he met in Paris.

B．The special culture he experienced in the city.

C．The academic achievement he made in his study.

D．The presentations and assignments he did in class.

【推荐3】The number of people in my house has grown from six to seven recently. A young man from Spain has come to spend six weeks with us. He is not an ordinary young man; he’s actually my second cousin, and is here to spend time with this side of the family, and of course, to learn English.

Thankfully, he is the same age as my youngest son, and is very fun-loving. I’m sure that he will pick up a lot of English while he plays with my kids. That was actually how I picked up a lot of Spanish when I was a child. My mother would take me to Mallorca in Spain, to spend about a month in the summers. Because children play so much, and are less inhibited(拘束的) than adults, they absorb language like little sponges (海绵). Well, that’s what happened to me, and I’m very thankful for the experience.

So far, we have taken my cousin to Seattle for a couple of days, and down to a local river to look for gold. Today, I plan on taking him to the museum in the town of Cashmere which is excellent. He will get his first view of Native American life, and be able to walk through some of the original pioneer houses of this area. Like most boys who are thirteen, he is very curious and constantly asks questions. Of course, I don’t always have the answers! Coming to the U.S. is a big step for him, especially being so young. Mind you, he is a world traveller. His mother is an air hostess and is able to get cheap airline tickets, so they travel internationally all the time. So he is extremely comfortable in airports, and understands the routines of getting from one place to another. I hope that his being here will encourage my children to spend time in Spain, and also become international travellers.

1. Why does the young man come to America?

A．To spend the summer holiday.	B．To meet his mother.
C．To learn English.	D．To go to school.

2. How old is the writer’s youngest son?

A．11 years old.

B．13 years old.

C．15 years old.

D．16 years old.

3. What does the writer think of her Spanish experience?

A．Helpful.

B．Boring.

C．Unnecessary.

D．Unimportant.

4. What can we know from the last paragraph?

A．The young man’s mother is a pilot.

B．The young man often travels by plane.

C．The writer’s children enjoy travelling to Spain.

D．The young man has ever seen Native American life before.