【推荐2】Study Tips for Final Exams

Over the next few weeks, many college students will be studying for final exams. Here are some tips to all of you on how you can cope with your tasks throughout the week(s).

Create Study Guides One Week before the Final.     1     Create these outlines or guides one week before the tests so you can just read the organized material and be able to answer the questions quickly and effectively.

Study in Groups Only if it Benefits You. Certainly there are many cases where studying in groups can be beneficial. However, a study group only works well if you are concentrated and serious.     2    

50-10 Rule. The basis of this rule is to study 50 minutes of every hour, and keep the last 10 minutes to clear your mind.     3     Create an alarm notification and stick to that alarm; it will be beneficial.

Finish Your Practice Problems. Whenever you find yourself having practice problems, don’t give up on them.     4     Be sure to work the problem because, more often than not, the ones you don’t understand are the ones that end up in the test.

Do a Practice Quiz. Recall that final exams usually last several hours and it can be difficult to handle the concentration level for such a long period of time.     5     Create a “home-made” quiz with all relevant information you need to know and review it two hours after you create it.

I hope this helps you with finals! Good luck to all!

A．Ask your parents or friends to quiz you about the material you are studying.

B．Many times, creating study guides are the most time-consuming part of studying.

C．If not, conversations, jokes, and distractions can take control of the study sessions.

D．It is important to leave a reasonable amount of time to study for optimizing your studies.

E．If you have questions on practice problems, check your notes or talk to a classmate for help.

F．The idea is that you should focus 100% during study and use the remaining to relax yourself.

G．Finish the problem completely so you can understand them better and leave no place for doubt.

【推荐3】Online courses can be a great way to learn. They’re quite helpful if you ’re a busy college student who tries to balance coursework with a job.     1     But how can you successfully finish an online course?

Make sure you can reliably get online.

Ensure that you have chances to work online for several hours at a time. It's best if you have high speed Internet at home. That’s because most online courses include materials like videos.     2    

Read the syllabus （教学大纲）.

    3     It will contain important information such as the professor’s email address and office hours. The syllabus will also provide information about the required course materials. If you’re wondering what books to buy, the syllabus will tell you.

Make a timetable.

With online courses, you can complete the work on your own time. However, you still need to create a plan and manage your time properly to finish the course.     4     For example, you could choose to devote Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-8 pm to working on your class.

Behave properly in class.

How? Address your classmates and your professor by their name or title. And do not be disrespectful to others. For example, during discussion avoid saying, “That'’s a stupid statement. ” Instead, just say, “I disagree because…" Disagreement is fine.     5    

A．So choose time for the class.

B．So set aside time for the class.

C．Disagreement helps form one’s own view.

D．Make your points in a polite way, however.

E．You will want these course materials to be loaded quickly.

F．They’re also a great choice if you can’t often get to campus.

G．It’s created by the professor to serve as a guide for the course.

【推荐1】It has been two months since I moved to China, but its digital advancement hasn’t stopped impressing me ever since. One of the major things that I cannot imagine living without anymore is mobile payment. There are two major mobile payment apps here, Alipay and Wechat Pay. Both have similar payment features, though Wechat is more like a social media. That’s why I will focus on this “super app”.

So far, I’ve been overwhelmed by how convenient life can be with Wechat. It is present in every aspect of people’s daily life, from paying water and electricity bills, meals, cinema tickets to hailing a taxi, following news, and chatting with friends. Most merchants have adopted it, from tiny local street food stalls to high-end stores. A cashier may be surprised if you do not pay with Wechat or Alipay at the grocers or in restaurants. And it seems like the entire payment industry has encouraged this shift to mobile payment, equipping payment terminals (终端) with QR code scanners to simplify payments. Mobile payments are so common here that I realize that I can perfectly survive if I forget my wallet at home one day because most days I just don’t take it out of my bag!

As mentioned earlier, Wechat is also a major social media platform with about one billion daily users, which is more than the entire population of the European Union. So I have to say Chinese technological and digital development is a real miracle.

1. What does the underlined word mean in Paragragh 2?

A．encouraged.	B．shocked.
C．confused.	D．panicked.

2. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Wechat is more a social media than Alipay.

B．All merchants have adopted mobile payment.

C．A cashier may be surprised if you pay with Wechat or Alipay.

D．It causes trouble if you don’t take your wallet with you.

3. The best title of the passage might be ________.

A．The Different Pinions About Mobile Payment

B．The Development of Mobile Payment

C．The Popularity of Chinese Mobile Payment

D．Two Major Apps of Mobile Payment

【推荐2】Even if you aren’t into artificial intelligence, it’s time to pay attention to ChatGPT, because this one is a big deal. ChatGPT is an AI chatbot system that OpenAI released in November to show off and test what a very large, powerful AI system can accomplish.

ChatGPT is built on top of the OpenAI GPT-3 family of large language models. It lets you type in natural-language prompts and then offers conversational replies. It remembers the thread of your dialogue, using previous questions and answers to inform its next responses. It finds relevant information in its oceans of training data, and changes that into plausible-sounding(貌似有理的) paragraphs of text.

You can ask it countless questions and often will get an answer that’s useful. For example, you can ask it encyclopedia questions like, “Explain Newton’s laws(定律) of motion.” You can tell it, “Write me a poem.” and when it does, say, “Now make it more exciting.” You can ask it to write a computer program that’ll show you all the different ways you can arrange the letters of a word.

A few days after its launch, more than 1 million people were trying out ChatGPT. UBS analyst Lloyd Walmsley estimated in February 2023 that ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly users in January, accomplishing in 2 months what took TikTok about 9 months and Instagram two and a half years.

Many people fear that ChatGPT might help students cheat better. But as with many other technology developments, it’s not a simple black-and-white situation. Decades ago, students could copy encyclopedia entries and use calculators, and more recently, they’ve been able to use search engines and Wikipedia. ChatGPT offers new abilities for everything from helping with research to doing your homework for you absolutely.

Dustin York, an associate professor of communication at Maryville University, hopes educators will learn to use ChatGPT as a tool and realize it can help students think critically.

“Educators thought that Google, Wikipedia, and the Internet itself would ruin education, but they did not.” York said, “what worries me most are educators who may actively try to discourage the acknowledgment of AI like ChatGPT. It is a tool, not a villain(恶棍).”

1. What is ChatGPT?

A．A search engine system.	B．A homework query system.
C．A navigation system.	D．An intelligent chat system.

2. Which function of ChatGPT is Not mentioned in this passage?

A．Chatting by voice.	B．Explaining the meaning of something.
C．Creative writing.	D．Computer programming.

3. What is the author’s attitude towards ChatGPT in this article?

A．Negative.	B．Objective.
C．Supportive.	D．Not mentioned in the article.

4. What is Not true about the content of this article?

A．ChatGPT can help students with their homework.

B．ChatGPT reduces students’ ability to think.

C．Some educators consider AI technology harmful to education.

D．You can get a useful answer to almost any question in ChatGPT.

【推荐1】Are visible tattoos an invitation to stare at a person? A blog post on LinkedIn titled “But You Asked Me to Stare At Your Tattoos” is causing debate after its author declared that if someone has a visible tattoo, they are inviting attention on themselves.

The magazine columnist Jeff Haden writes that while in a meeting recently, he met a man with a full sleeve tattoo. After looking at his body art for “a couple of seconds”, the man asked Haden, “Would it be easier if you just took a picture?” Haden goes on to write, “You have this huge, colorful, incredibly eye-catching tattoo. And you’re wearing a shirt with unusually short sleeves. It’s like you’re paraphrasing Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men: ‘You want me to see your tattoo. You need me to see your tattoo.’”

But not everyone who has a visible tattoo thinks about it when getting dressed in the morning, replied some commenters. For those with tattoos, they often become a part of the person. “For most people who have had their tattoos, it isn’t something that you think about with any frequency. I don’t even notice it as ‘different’. It’s just a part of you - like grey hair or a large nose.” Writes Kristen Stine. “People say to me ‘What’s that?’, pointing at my arm. I often get flustered expecting to see a bug when I look down. However, I just see my arm.”

Still others agree with Haden and say that visible tattoos have no place in the workplace. “If you don’t want people to stare, wear a long sleeve shirt in this air-conditioned office. Clearly you want people to stare,” writes Mike Avelar.

Haden closes his piece with the following: “Make a statement with your apparel, your tattoos, your piercings or your actions. I think it’s great. Just don’t get mad when people look for a bit longer than usual… and occasionally even stare. That must be your intention. After all - you invited us to.”

1. What is the text mainly about?

A．The introduction of a magazine.

B．A hot debate about tattoos.

C．The bad effects of tattoos.

D．The blog of Jeff Haden.

2. Jeff Haden thinks that ______.

A．more discussion should be made about tattoos

B．people with tattoos hope to attract attention

C．people with tattoos shouldn’t take pictures

D．it’s improper for people to get tattoos

3. According to Kristen Stine, ________.

A．people needn’t worry about tattoos

B．people with tattoos should cover them

C．tattoos have become important for him

D．he didn’t pay much attention to tattoos

4. What is Mike Avelar’s idea about tattoos?

A．Air-conditioned offices are fit for people with tattoos.

B．People shouldn’t show tattoos in the workplace.

C．It’s reasonable for people to have tattoos.

D．People with tattoos should be blamed.

【推荐2】Under normal situations, falling asleep during a paid tour is a waste of money or an offense to your guide. But that’s not the case with this new experience coming out of Hong Kong. As its name shows, the Sleeping Bus Tour is designed to help passengers catch some sleep, and rides are already selling out.

A 2022 survey by the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Center of Communication and Public Opinion notes almost 70% people experiences some form of sleep disorder. Hong Kongers have much stress from work and need a space for sleeping, but their living spaces are too small. Some may not live alone and have to share apartments with their family, which may not be a good environment for a proper rest.

After noticing passengers falling asleep on their buses, the Hong Kong tour company, Ulu Travel Agency, recently launched such an innovative way for adults to sleep: the Sleeping Bus Tour. The five-hour bus ride takes passengers on an 83-kilometer journey aboard a regular double-decker bus. Not only is the Sleeping Bus Tour the first of its kind, it's also the longest bus route in Hong Kong, ensuring that tired passengers have plenty of time to enjoy some sleep.

When passengers board the bus, they are treated with a goodie bag complete with an eye mask and earplugs to help them sleep and they are allowed to bring their own blankets and slippers. The long ride includes a few stops for scenic spots and bathroom breaks. Passengers can also get off the bus if they’d prefer to continue their sleep at home rather than complete the entire journey. Tickets for the Sleeping Bus Tour are divided in four kinds from the “Zero-decibel (分贝) Sleeping Cabin“ to the ”VIP Cabin.” Prices range from about $17 USD to $115 USD per person. For more information on this unique experience, head to the Ulu travel company website.

1. Why was the Sleeping Bus Tour launched?

A．To help adult passengers rest properly.

B．To make more profits.

C．To reduce the stress from extra work.

D．To improve the sleeping habits.

2. What does the underlined word “innovative” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Challenging	B．Creative
C．Adventurous	D．Enormous

3. What can a passenger get from the Sleeping Bus Tour?

A．A ride in a high-tech bus.

B．A guided sight-seeing tour.

C．A blanket and a pair of slippers.

D．A bag with sleep aid products.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To raise concerns over sleep problems.

B．To inform readers of a new survey.

C．To advertise a travel company.

D．To introduce a bus tour.

【推荐3】阅读理解。
       Many facts suggest that children are overweight (超重的) and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.
       Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice cream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups who seldom cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children would buy less take-away food.
       There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I agree with this, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops. If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives.
       There is a third reason for this situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games. Not only is this an unhealthy pastime (消遣), it also gives them time to eat more unhealthy food. What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports.
       The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits.
1. According to the text, what kind of children may eat more unhealthy food?

A．Those who often take exercise.

B．Those who often watch television.

C．Those who often have meals at home.

D．Those who often walk to school.

2. What is one reason that children become overweight?

A．Children can’t choose what to eat.

B．Children are too busy to go out and play.

C．Children’s parents often cook meals for them.

D．There are too many fast food shops around.

3. What does the underlined word “steering” in the last sentence most probably mean?

A．Forcing.	B．Guiding.
C．Driving.	D．Moving.

4. What’s the main purpose of the text?

A．To tell a story.	B．To provide facts.
C．To give advice.	D．To compare opinions.

【推荐1】To be clear, plastic bags are rightly thought of as a threat that's harmful to human health. According to the National Resources Defense Council, over a decade ago, the average American family took home almost 1,500 plastic shopping bags a year, filling our cabinets, kitchen drawers, and landfills (垃圾填埋场). Today the numbers are slightly better: According to National Geographic, as of 2018, shoppers in the United States use almost one plastic bag per resident per day.

This is not a story on the evil of plastics, but on whether the reusable bag can justify its existence. Although more environmentally friendly than traditional single-use plastic bags, reusable bags, depending on what they are made of, are more energy-intensive (耗能) to recycle.

According to a report by the United Nations Environment Program, “depending on what they are made of, reusable bags might have to be deconstructed in a costly recycling process to separate the different materials. As a result, in many cases, reusable bags are not recycled." That means despite the best intentions, millions of reusable bags designed to replace the need for traditional plastic shopping bags, will also end up in landfills.

Another point to consider, not all reusable bags are equal in terms of their recyclability. There are a wide range of reusable bag options on the market, and reusable bags tend to be made of more than one material to give the bag added reinforcement (耐用) and added street fashion. On a life cycle basis, stronger, heavier bags-no matter what material they are made of-will have a more severe environmental effect. That's because heavier bags use more resources to produce as well as distribute.

Just like plastic bags did, reusable bags multiply rapidly. Used for promotional (促销的)purposes and marketing of all kinds, reusable bags' growing popularity means bags that have been used very little (or not at all) can be found piled in streets, in garbage cans in city parks, and basically everywhere. Therefore, consumers have come to see them as disposable, defeating their very purpose.

In the end, the best practice for reusable bags is to have no half measures: Either use them all the time or don't use them at all. Using a reusable bag once or twice, and then throwing it away, doesn't do the environment any favors.

1. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Plastic bags are refused by environmentalists.

B．Shops in America have limited the use of plastic bags.

C．The need of strong and fashionable reusable bags is more than the supply.

D．Reusable bags demand more resources to produce and recycle than expected.

2. The words “very purpose" in Paragraph 6 refer to the intention of __________.

A．being left in landfills

B．being used as much as possible

C．replacing plastic bags

D．promoting goods on the market

3. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．How to Recycle Reusable Bags

B．Disadvantages of Plastic Bags

C．Reusable Bags? Think Twice!

D．Plastic Bags, Less Popular?

4. Which of the following shows the development of ideas in the passage?
I: Introduction     CP: Central Point     P: Point     Sp: Sub-point (次要点)     C: Conclusion

A．	B．
C．	D．

【推荐2】There is something to be said for being a generalist, even if you are a specialist. Knowing a little about a lot of things that interest you can add to the richness of a whole, well-lived life.

Society pushes us to specialize, to become experts. This requires commitment to a particular occupation, branch of study or research. The drawback to being specialists is we often come to know more and more about less and less. There is a great deal of pressure to master one's field. You may pursue training, degrees, or increasing levels of responsibility at work. Then you discover the pressure of having to keep up.

Some people seem willing to work around the clock in their narrow specialty. But such commitment can also weaken a sense of freedom. These specialists could work at the office until ten each night, then look back and realize they would have loved to have gone home and enjoyed the sweetness of their family and friends, or traveled to exciting places, meeting interesting people. Mastering one thing to the exclusion （排 除）of others can hold back your true spirit.

Generalists, on the other hand, know a lot about a wide range of subjects and view the whole with all its connections. They are people of ability, talent, and enthusiasm who can bring their broad perspective （视角）into specific fields of expertise （专长）.The doctor who is also a poet and philosopher is a superior doctor, one who can give so much more to his patients than just good medical skills.

Things are connected. Let your expertise in one field fuel your passions in all related areas. Some of your interests may not appear to be connected but, once you explore their depths, you discover that they are. My editor Toni, who is also a writer, has edited several history books. She has decided to study Chinese history. Fascinated by the structural beauty of the Forbidden City as a painter, she is equally interested to learn more about Chinese philosophy. "I don't know where it will lead, but I'm excited I'm on this pursuit."

These expansions into new worlds help us by giving us new perspectives. We begin to see the interconnectedness of one thing to another in all aspects of our life, of ourselves and the universe. Develop broad, general knowledge and experience. The universe is all yours to explore and enjoy.

1. To become a specialist, one may have to_____.

A．narrow his range of knowledge

B．avoid responsibilities at work

C．know more about the society

D．broaden his perspective on life

2. The specialists mentioned in Paragraph 3 tend to______.

A．treasure their freedom

B．travel around the world

C．spend most time working

D．enjoy meeting funny people

3. According to the author, a superior doctor is one who_____.

A．is fully aware of his talent and ability

B．is a pure specialist in medicine

C．should love poetry and philosophy

D．brings knowledge of other fields to work

4. What does the author intend to show with the example of Toni?

A．Passion alone does not ensure a person's success.

B．In-depth exploration makes discoveries possible.

C．Everyone has a chance to succeed in their pursuit.

D．Seemingly unrelated interests are in a way connected.

5. What could be the best title for the passage?

A．Be More a Generalist Than a Specialist

B．Specialist or Generalist: Hard to Decide

C．Turn a Generalist into a Specialist

D．Ways to Become a Generalist

【推荐3】A popular saying goes, “Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, that’s not really true. Words have the power to build us up or tear us down. It doesn’t matter if the words come from someone else or ourselves – the positive and negative effects are just as lasting.

We all talk to ourselves sometimes. We’re usually too embarrassed to admit it, though. But we really shouldn’t be, because more and more experts believe talking to ourselves out loud is a healthy habit.

This “self-talk” helps us motivate ourselves, remember things, solves problems, and calm ourselves down. Beware, though, that as much as 77% of self-talk tends to be negative. So in order to stay positive, we should only speak words of encouragement to ourselves. We should also be quick to give ourselves a pat on the back. The next time you finish a project, do well in a test, or finally clean your room, join me in saying, “Good job!”

Words possess power because of their lasting effects. Many of us regret something we once said. And we remember unkind words said to us! Before speaking, we should always ask ourselves: Is it true? Is it loving? Is it needed? If what we want to say doesn’t pass this test, then it’s better left unsaid.

Words possess power: both positive and negative. Those around us receive encouragement when we speak positively. We can offer hope, build self-esteem (自尊) and motive others to do their best. Negative words destroy all those things. Will we use our words to hurt or to heal? The choice is ours.

1. The author argues in the first paragraph that ________.

A．words will never hurt us at all

B．words have lasting effects on us

C．positive effects last longer than negative effects

D．negative words last longer than positive effects

2. Why should we not feel embarrassed when talking to ourselves?

A．Almost everybody has the habit of talking to oneself.

B．It does harm to have “self-talk” when we are alone.

C．Talking to ourselves helps us to solve all the problems.

D．Talking to ourselves is believed to be good for our health.

3. The underlined phrase “give ourselves a pat on the back” in Paragraph 3 means _________.

A．blame ourselves	B．punish ourselves
C．praise ourselves	D．talk to ourselves

4. Which of the following statements would the author agree to?

A．It is better to think twice before talking to others.

B．It is impossible for unkind words to be forgotten.

C．Words always possess long positive effects.

D．Kind words are sometimes not needed at all.