【推荐1】Working or learning in a foreign country can be a difficult experience, both professionally and personally, due to the culture shock.

The hardest part of working abroad is not finding a place to stay or learning the language. It is learning to overcome the culture shock. The anthropologist Kalvero Oberg first put forward the term “culture shock.” he reported that the culture shock was caused by the “anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse while living and working in another culture.

These things are part of everyday life, and include many signs, gestures, facial expressions, and customs. These cues are usually not present or so different when we firstly enter a new culture, but gradually they will become no longer so comprehensible to us.

“When an individual enters a strange culture”, wrote Oberg,“all or most these familiar cues are eliminated. He or she is like a fish out of water. No matter how broad-minded he or she may be, lost of supports have been knocked out from the environment.”

This is what happened to Lara, a young IT consultant from America relocated last year to their company in southern Europe. Three weeks after she arrived in Europe, Lara sent a desperate e-mail begging to return home. “The people are so unfriendly,”Lara wrote. “They eat at strange hours and I am starting to get allergic to the local food. I cannot get anything done because their way of doing business is so disorganized and so inefficient. And I have a terrible skin itch because of the water. I want to come home!”

What Lara and other IT consultants meet on their first assignment abroad is a cultural shock. While you cannot prevent the culture shock from happening, you can take steps to lessen its effect.

1. What is the most difficult part for a foreign student?

A．Adapting to the local culture.	B．Finding a right place to live.
C．Entering a famous school.	D．Learning the foreign language.

2. Which of the following word can replace the underlined word“eliminated”in Paragraph 4?

A．analyzed	B．solved
C．approved	D．removed

3. Why does the author describe Lara's experience?

A．To tell us how she manages to work well.

B．To show us where we will encounter the culture shock

C．To explain to us what the culture shock is.

D．To show us how to adapt to the culture shock.

【推荐2】Chinese Paper Cutting or Jianzhi is the first type of paper-cutting design, since paper was invented in the Eastern Han Dynasty in China.

It's a very distinguishing visual art of Chinese handicrafts. The art form later spread to other parts of the world with different areas adopting their own cultural styles. After hundreds of year's development, now they’ve become a very popular means of decoration among country folk, especially women. The paper-cuts are also used to decorate doors and windows, and therefore they're sometimes referred to chuang hua, meaning Window Flower. Paper-cuts are chiefly used as decorations. However, today, Chinese paper-cuts are also used for religious and ceremonial purpose, and they're buried with the dead and burned at funerals.

Chinese people believe the red paper-cuts on the door can bring good fortune and happiness to the whole family. The paper-cuts are more often seen during traditional Chinese festivals, particularly in Chinese New Year, the Spring Festival. They're also given as gifts to friends or other family members.

Paper-cuttings aren't produced by machine, but by hand. There're two methods of manufacture: one uses scissors, the other uses knives. Knife cuttings are fashioned by putting several layers of paper on a relatively soft foundation. Following a pattern, the artist cuts the pattern into the paper with a sharp knife he usually holds vertically. The advantage of knife-cuttings is that considerably more paper cuttings can be made in one operation than with scissor cuttings.

It's easy to learn about cutting a piece of paper but difficult to master it with perfection. One must grasp the knife in an upright fashion and press evenly (均匀地) on the paper with some strength. Flexibility is required but any hesitation will damage the whole image.

People find hope and comfort in expressing wishes with paper-cutting. For instance: for a wedding ceremony, red paper-cuttings are a traditional decoration on the tea set, the dressing table glass, and on other furniture. A big red paper character 'Xi'(happiness) is a traditional must on the newlywed's (新婚夫妇) door.

1. It can be learned from the second paragraph that            .

A．paper-cuts are mainly used as presents.

B．females are better at paper-cutting than males.

C．paper-cutting varies from area to area.

D．paper-cuts are used in various ceremonies but funerals.

2. What is the fourth paragraph mainly about?

A．Forms of paper-cutting.	B．Characteristics of paper-cutting.
C．Advantages of knife cuttings.	D．Means of paper-cutting.

3. The author develops the last paragraph by             .

A．using examples	B．describing processes
C．analyzing causes	D．making comparisons

【推荐3】Wearing a mask for confidence

You may often see young people in Asian countries wear their masks in public.     1     Asians often wear face masks to prevent one's own germs (微生物) or sickness from spreading in public places.     2    This means they will try their best to make contributions to their group. During the novel coronavirus outbreak, Asians will wear masks to prevent both themselves and others from being infected, which will eventually benefit the whole group.

Apart from physical protection, masks have evolved into social firewalls among young people in Asian countries as well.     3    They often want to keep a safe distance from strangers. But when they can't achieve it in public such as on a crowded subway, hiding their faces with masks can sometimes help them gain some privacy.     4    For example, they can avoid the embarrassment when they don't have enough time to do makeup.

    5    They wear them, along with audio headsets, to signal a lack of desire to communicate with those around them, according to Quartz.

Not only are masks used to prevent the spread of disease, they have indeed made their way into the mainstream and are here to stay in Asian countries.

A．What makes them do so?

B．Asians are subject to Confucianism (儒教).

C．In many Asian countries, people value collectivism.

D．They think wearing masks is not related to their freedom.

E．For this reason, wearing masks has become a fashion trend among young people.

F．For some young girls, wearing masks can give them confidence and a sense of security.

G．Young people are more concerned about their privacy than their parents and grandparents.

【推荐1】During these past few days I have been reflecting a lot on everything that happened this past year and thinking of what I can do differently so that the coming year will be much better! Here I want to share some tips so you can also do your resolution and you can achieve them all!
·Be realistic: You should always try to reach for the skies with your goals, but things like “I want to win the lottery（彩票）” or “I want to lose 80 pounds in 1 month” are things you shouldn’t have on your list because they will only become frustrations.
·Be detailed: It’s a lot easier to accomplish more specific plans than general ones. Instead of writing “I want to lose weight,” put things like “I will start my Yes You Can! Diet Plan the first Monday of the year” or “I will start a movement routine 3 times a week for 35 minutes.” When we put down concrete activities, we commit ourselves to them and it becomes a lot harder to come up with excuses.
·Think of alternatives: At the beginning of this past year, you put that you were going to start going to the gym as one of your annual plans. During the whole year you intended to take action but you always said that you couldn’t because you came home so tired from work. If this is one of your plans for this year, you should write down how you’re going to achieve it. For example, “I will start going to the gym in the mornings, before work.” That way you prevent what stopped you from achieving your goal last year.
·Focus on goals which depend on YOU: It is very important that all of your plans are for YOU to accomplish, and it is important that you write them down that way. If one of your goals this coming year is to improve a relationship with one of your family members, make sure that you clearly put down what you are going to do for this to succeed. For example, “I will call my sister at least three times a week and I will visit her in the middle of the year.”
Well, I hope that you use these tips so that this year you will accomplish everything you want, and make it the best year ever! Thank you for being with me during everything this past year, and I hope that you keep showing me all of this love and support during the next. Happy new year!
1. Why isn’t “I want to win the lottery” recommended as a New Year plan?

A．Because it is very likely to fail.

B．Because it is too easy to realize.

C．Because it is not big enough as a goal.

D．Because it is not easier than losing weight.

2. The underlined word commit in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by the word_______.

A．devote

B．determine

C．adjust

D．force

3. When you failed to accomplish your plan last year, you’re advised to ______.

A．take action instead of writing it down

B．give up the same plan this year

C．put down the way to realize it

D．stop making any plans

4. According to the passage, which of the following is the best plan?

A．I will become a millionaire in one month.

B．I want to be the champion of the marathon.

C．I will change all of my bad habits in one week.

D．I will go for a walk after supper in working days.

【推荐2】Jane Austen began her second novel, Pride and Prejudice, before she was twenty-one. It was originally titled First Impression because the appearances of the characters created the plot of the novel. However, because the novel is also concerned with effects of the characters' first impressions, which is their prejudice. Austen found the title Pride and Prejudice more suitable.

The tone of the novel is light, and satirical. Scenes such as Mr. Collin's proposal to Elizabeth, and Lady Catherine's visits to Lizzy at Long Bourn, provide humorous relief to the readers while at the same time showing certain features of the characters. For example, Lydia's lack of common sense and responsibility is showed when she takes pride in being the First Bennet girl to be married. Elizabeth Bennet's ability to laugh off her bad luck and to continue to be cheerful also contributes to the tone of the novel.

As a result, the mood of the novel lacks dramatic emotions. The atmosphere is cold; there are little description of the setting. The main actions of the novel are the interactions between opinions, ideas, and attitudes, which advance the plot of the novel. The emotions in the novel are to be considered beneath the surface of the story and not to be expressed to the readers directly.

“It is a truth universally believed that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” In this statement, Austin has cleverly done three things: she has declared that the main subject of the novel will be marriage, she has recognized the humorous tone of the novel by taking a simple subject to speak intelligently of, and she has prepared the reader for chase in the novel of either a husband in search of a wife, or a woman in pursuit of a husband.

1. Characters in Pride and Prejudice impressed people with________.

A．prejudice

B．pride

C．ignorance

D．honesty

2. The second paragraph develops by_________.

A．following the order of time	B．providing different examples
C．making comparisons	D．analyzing causes

3. The first sentence in the 4th paragraph is to prove_______.

A．the truth of a marriage	B．the wisdom of Jane Austen
C．the popularity of the novel	D．the main subject of the novel

4. The passage may be ________.

A．an introduction to a novel	B．a biography of Jane Austen
C．a review on pride and prejudice	D．a background for Pride and Prejudice