【推荐1】The ISS orbits Earth at an average of 250 miles from the surface of Earth and completes 15.5 circles per day, once every 92 minutes. In other words, the astronauts see the sunrise and sunset 16 times every day!

The station is inhabited by astronauts conducting research in various fields, while also using it as an observatory to explore Earth and outer space. It is also intended to be a transportation center for spacecraft that are bound for the Moon, Mars and other interplanetary voyages.

The crew is not only responsible for the scientific experimentation and research being conducted onboard, but also the upkeep and maintenance of the vessel, a vessel that is continuously in motion and exposed to the worst possible elements. Such conditions are significant area of study for researchers.

The most common effect of space is the initial contact — getting used to such an alien environment. Astronauts are often seen to display anxiety or depression as they adjust to the novelty of space, according to post-psychiatric screenings of astronauts. Other causes of stress are the high pressure of work while being under frequent public observation, being away from home and family, and missing important events.

Sleep is another major factor that affects the mood and efficiency of the astronauts. Due to the irregularity in life and the constant rotation (转动) of sunrise and sunset, the circadian rhythm (生理节律) of the astronauts goes completely haywire, resulting in poor quality of sleep. The shuttle itself is noisy, with essential equipment always in operation to sustain the vessel. Half of all the astronauts onboard rely on sleeping pills to get some rest and manage to get an average 2 hours less sleep than when they’re back on Earth. Sleep is so critical for functionality that 50% of all medicines taken by astronauts in orbit is to help them sleep better. Low-Earth Orbit living is a restless endeavor, indeed.

1. Which of the following is most likely to affect the astronauts’ mood?

A．Scientific experiments onboard.

B．Observation of outer space.

C．Interplanetary voyages.

D．Exposure to extreme conditions.

2. Which of the following can best explain the underlined phrase in the last paragraph?

A．Return to normal.	B．Become out of control.
C．Go unnoticed.	D．Remain unchanged.

3. How can we describe the astronauts’ life in the ISS?

A．Highly-pressured.	B．Trouble-free.
C．Safe and sound.	D．Quiet and beautiful.

4. What is mainly discussed in the passage?

A．The functions of the ISS.

B．The missions of the astronauts.

C．The mental challenges of living in the ISS.

D．The splendid view of the space.

【推荐2】How to Overcome Jealousy

Everyone feels a little jealous once in a while — maybe someone was acting better than you, or maybe your best friend has been having much fun with a new coworker.

However,     1     they can actually cause a conflict between you and the person you want to be closest to. To save the relationship and get some peace of mind, take some time to sort through your feelings before you act on them.

Admit how you’re feeling to yourself before you do anything else. If you notice you’re feeling a little jealous, take a few minutes to check in with yourself. It’s perfectly normal to get jealous once in a while, so don’t judge your feelings — just let yourself acknowledge that’s what’s going on.    2    .

Don’t act on your jealousy while you’re upset.    3    . There’s nothing wrong with simply feeling jealous — it happens to everyone, However, feeling jealous doesn’t mean you have to withdraw from your partner, or accuse them of anything. If you can observe how you’re feeling without acting on it, you may actually feel your jealousy starting to decrease.

    4    . Focus on your positive qualities. Jealousy can sometimes be rooted in insecurity and low self-esteem. However, it’s really important to remember that you re unique, with your own special talents. When you can embrace these, you’ll be less likely to feel jealous or insecure.

Remember that other people have problems, too.    5    . That can sometimes fuel jealous feelings, because you might feel like you want what they have, or that they can come and take what you have. Don’t fall into that trap, though, — other people often have problems that you never know about, no matter what their life looks like from the outside.

A．if jealous thoughts become really disturbing.

B．when you are always jealous of someone.

C．Take some time to cool off so you won’t say anything you’ll regret.

D．It can be really inviting to look at other people and think they have a perfect life.

E．Embrace yourself for who you are.

F．Reflect on the root of your jealous feelings.

G．Sometimes, just naming our emotions can help us start to get some control over them.

【推荐3】Ways to Embrace Solitude (独处)

For many, being alone is something they shy away from because it’s like loneliness. But loneliness and solitude are not the same.    1    . The latter offers a chance to direct attention to self-care and self-discovery without outside influences or expectations from others. It sharpens your concentration and helps you focus on your tasks and also boosts your creativity regularly.

Psychologists even consider solitude as important as relationships and view the ability to be alone as a sign of healthy emotional development.    2    , just as people learn social skills to guide themselves in the world of relationships successfully. And some specific strategies may make it a constructive, enjoyable experience.

Enjoy solitary activities

People who enjoy solitude find satisfaction and meaning when getting absorbed in a hobby, reading for pleasure, or getting out in nature. They rarely experience boredom when they’re alone and genuinely enjoy themselves while doing something interesting.

    3    

In solitude, buried feelings, memories, or problems can surface. Rather than avoid being discouraged by them, you can learn to engage in the regulation with curiosity, using the private time to explore your feelings without judgment. Accepting and expressing them safely helps you self-regulate and release stress.

Be self-reflective

People who enjoy solitude are willing to self-reflect.    4    , reflecting on their values, or considering the bigger picture. Instead of going round about situations you can’t control, self-reflection invites self- awareness, bringing you closer to insight about who you are.

Know when to exit solitude

    5    , if you begin to feel lonely or your thoughts turn to self-harm. It is equally important to know when it’s time to leave solitude and seek the company of others.

A．Protect your privacy

B．Feel and regulate your emotions

C．They prefer listening to solitude signals

D．Break your solitude and turn for support

E．The former is marked by negative feelings

F．There are skills associated with its capacity

G．They spend time considering behavior patterns

【推荐2】Antarctica has actually become a kind of space station — a unique observation post for detecting important changes in the world’s environment. Remote from major sources of pollution and the complex geological and ecological systems that are common elsewhere, Antarctica makes possible scientific measurements that are often sharper and easier to interpret than those made in other parts of the world.

Therefore, growing numbers of scientists see Antarctica as a distant-early-warning sensor, where potentially dangerous global trends may be spotted before they show up to the north. One promising field of investigation is glaciology. Scholars from the United States, Switzerland, and France are pursuing seven separate but related projects that reflect their concern for the health of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet — a concern they believe the whole world should share.

The Transantarctic Mountain, some of them more than 14,000 feet high, divide the continent into two very different regions. The part of the continent to the “east” of the mountains is a high plateau (高原) covered by an ice sheet nearly two miles thick. “West” of the mountain, the half of the continent south of the Americas is also covered by an ice sheet, but there the ice rests on rock that is mostly well below sea level. If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared, the western part of the continent would be reduced to a few and far gathering of island.

While ice and snow are obviously central to many environmental experiments, others focus on the mysterious “dry valley” of Antarctica. The valleys contain little ice or snow even in the depths of winter. Through the mountains of southern Victoria Land, these valleys once held enormous glaciers that extended 9,000 feet downside to the Ross Sea. Now the glaciers are gone, perhaps due to the global warming trend during the 10,000 years since the ice age. Even the snow that falls in the dry valleys is blown away by strong winds that roars down from the polar plateau to the sea.

Despite the mysterious aspect of the dry valleys, some scientists believe they may carry the hope of the environment. Some scientists believe that in some cases the dry valleys may absorb pollutants faster than pollutants enter them.

1. What is the best title for this passage?

A．Antarctica and environmental Problems.

B．Antarctica: a high plateau.

C．Antarctica: a Unique Observation Post.

D．Antarctica: a Mysterious Place.

2. What would the result be if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet disappeared?

A．The western part of the continent would be disappeared.

B．The western part of the continent would be reduced.

C．The western part of the continent would become a fragmentary island.

D．The western part of the continent would be reduced to a gathering of island.

3. Why are the Dry Valleys left bare?

A．Strong wind blows the snow away.

B．It rarely snows.

C．Because of the global warming trend and fierce wind.

D．Ice sheets.

4. Which of the following is true?

A．The “Dry Valleys” have nothing left inside.

B．The “Dry Valleys” never held glaciers.

C．The “Dry Valleys” may carry a message of hope.

D．The “Dry Valleys” are useless to scientists.

【推荐3】“When we are stressed, we are more likely to want to avoid not just the task at hand, but the negative emotions we feel around that task as well,” Alicia Wafaa neuroscientist and senior lecturer at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, explains. “That’s because at a basic neuroscientific level, we have a bias toward the present and prefer the immediate reward of feeling good when the brain releases the neurochemical dopamine (多巴胺).”

Essentially, our brains are hardwired to approach tasks we find enjoyable and avoid those that produce negative feelings. “Our limbic brain (大脑边缘系统), the emotional part of our brain, is saying, ‘Let’s do this other thing and avoid that other stressful thing, while our prefrontal cortex (前额叶脑皮层) is the CEO of our brain, ” says Walf. “It’s making a plan, setting the goals, and making sure we stay on track. But there can be a disconnect when our limbic brain denies that prefrontal cortex message.” Then there’s the burst of energy we often get when we’re up against a deadline, which leads to a reward pathway within our brains and sets the foundation for procrastination (拖延症) as a habit. “When you sprint (冲刺) to the end and get to the goal, it’s so satisfying; we almost get ourselves in that pattern of ‘Well, I got it done, and it felt good,’” says Walf.

In an effort to retrain your brain, Walf recommends taking breaks to refocus your attention on the task at hand. Methods such as the Pomodoro Technique can help you stay focused, in which you work within 25-minute intervals followed by five-minute breaks and continue circling until the task of the day is completed. Integrating mindfulness techniques during those breaks， such as meditation (冥想), yoga, and journaling, can also help reduce the stress that causes procrastination. “Trying to minimize stress by deliberately refocusing on whatever the task is, versus those feelings of anxiety, is about retraining your approach to stress and behaviors,“ says Walf.

It can also help to “eat that frog”, or tackle the most difficult and most meaningful task of the day and do it first thing in the morning. If all else fails, try tricking your brain by giving yourself a small reward for working on the task you’ve been avoiding. “Little rewards really help us, especially when we’re trying to reach a large goal,” says Walf. “You have to recharge and keep yourself motivated. ”

1. What message is conveyed in the first two paragraphs?

A．People prefer more stressful tasks.

B．Stress produces negative feelings.

C．Stress is behind the delay on tasks.

D．Stress keeps one’s brain motivated.

2. In Paragraph 2, what will probably happen when our limbic brain takes over?

A．Preparing one’s tasks in advance.	B．Approaching tasks as scheduled.
C．Living up to one’s purposes.	D．Leaving difficulties to the last.

3. What is one key to Pomodoro Technique according to Walf?

A．Mixing up the feelings of anxiety.	B．Watching out for working behaviors.
C．Being absent-minded during breaks.	D．Attaining a goal in a timed period.

4. What is “eat that frog” probably about?

A．Frog cooking.	B．Challenge overcoming.
C．Time management.	D．Morning exercise.

【推荐1】In an era of endless notifications(通知) from apps, devices and social media platforms, as well as access to more information than we could possibly consider, how do we find ways to manage? And is the way we think, focus and process information changing as a result?

Maryanne Wolf is the director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at the University of California in the United States. Wolf is concerned that “the amount of interaction we have with our screens and devices and the speed at which we necessarily have to function have changed us by removing from us the ability to be present. And we’re so accustomed to going so fast that becoming completely involved in an activity is difficult.”

Kai Lukoff is an assistant professor at Santa Clara University in the US. He researches how apps, social media platforms and technology designers attempt to attract a user’s attention. “There are a thousand or more engineers, developers, designers on the other side of the screen who are purposefully or intentionally designing these services in order to attract your attention, to get you to spend more time on the site and to get you to click on more ads.”

Daniel Le Roux is a senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. He looks at the effects of what we’re doing when we’re “media multitasking”. “Everybody’s doing it, and it’s, in a large way, a natural adaptation to the technological environment that has been created around us.” he said.

Media multitasking, like skimming, is an adaptive response to an environment filled with information. And media multitasking comes at a cognitive(认知的) cost. Le Roux points out. “We bring what we might call a switch cost; that means our performance in our central task is going to suffer. If you think of driving as the central task, the reason we prohibit drivers from using their smartphones while they’re driving is that it distracts them from the task of driving.”

1. What is the result of much interaction with screens and devices according to Maryanne Wolf?

A．Having trouble in concentrating.

B．Becoming addicted to the Internet.

C．Being exposed to harmful information

D．Building more relationships with others.

2. What does Kai Lukoff try to stress in the third paragraph?

A．Why social media apps are popular.	B．How social media platforms operate.
C．Platform workers try to attract users.	D．Social media platforms provide great services.

3. Why does Daniel Le Roux mention driving?

A．To explain media multitasking is common.

B．To show the harm of media multitasking.

C．To explain why we’re media multitasking.

D．To show the difficulty avoiding media multitasking.

4. How does the author develop the text?

A．By quoting from some experts’ speeches.

B．By providing some typical examples.

C．By using the results of some surveys.

D．By analyzing some social phenomena.

【推荐3】In 1674 George Ravenscroft, an English glass merchant, was granted a patent for the discovery made at his factory in London that adding lead oxide(一氧化铝)to the melt resulted in a clearer, more durable product. Thus was born lead crystal, and with it the fashion, in England, of drinking wine from glass vessels rather than, say, metal ones.

Wine glasses have evolved since then, of course, and one aspect of this evolution is of particular interest to Theresa Marteau and her colleagues in the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at Cambridge University. Dr Marteau suspected that glasses have got bigger over the years, and that this may have contributed to the increased drinking of wine in Britain—an increase that has been particularly marked in recent decades.

As they report in the BMJ, a medical journal, she and her team obtained data on glass volumes going back to about 1700 from sources including the Royal Household and the Ashmolean, the university museum of Cambridge’s arch-rival, Oxford. Altogether, they recorded the capacity of 411 glasses and, as the chart shows, there has indeed been a near-continuous tendency for that capacity to increase since Ravenscroft’s day(he died in 1683). There is also a notable acceleration of the process starting in about 1990. In all, the average capacity of a wine glass increased from 66ml in the 1700s to almost 450ml in 2016-17.

That this volumetric inflation has stimulated wine consumption—Dr Marteau’s second hypothesis(假设)—is hard to prove. But it may have done. The amount of wine drunk in Britain has risen more than sevenfold since 1960, while the population has grown by only 25%. Data collected between 1978 and 2005 by Britain’s Office of National Statistics suggest the proportion of adults drinking wine fell from 60% to 50% over that period, while the average weekly wine consumption of those who did drink the stuff tripled, when measured as units of alcohol.

Meanwhile, work designed to test directly the idea that glass size matters, which Dr Marteau published last year, produced mixed results. She looked at the consequences for wine sales at a bar in Cambridge of serving its wares in both bigger and smaller glasses than normal, while keeping the serving sizes on offer(125ml or 175ml, according to customer choice)the same. In weeks when the bigger glasses were used, wine sales went up by 9% on average. The larger vessels, it seemed, were indeed encouraging customers to order refills more often. On the other hand, in weeks when the size of the glasses was below normal, sales did not go down. Reducing glass sizes, then, does not keep people sober.

1. Why does the writer mention George Ravenscroft’s patent in the first paragraph?

A．To introduce an important change in wine glasses.

B．To pay respect to a successful English glass merchant.

C．To arouse readers’ interest in how wine glasses are made.

D．To make a comparison between two ways of wine production

2. According to the passage, what is Dr Marteau’s first hypothesis?

A．Wine consumption has been going up in the last 100 years.

B．The size of wine glasses has been increasing over the years.

C．Wine became a more durable product three hundred years ago.

D．Wine used to be drunk in a small metal container.

3. According to Dr Marteau’s research, which of the following statements is true?

A．Today’s wine glasses are as big as those in the early 1900s.

B．The population of Britain has grown more quickly than wine consumption.

C．Those who drank consumed an increasing amount of wine between 1978 and 2005.

D．The proportion of adults drinking wine has kept going down since 1960.

4. The word “sober”(in the last paragraph)is closest in meaning to ________.

A．healthy

B．considerate

C．not violent

D．not drunk