【推荐1】Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A．excelled                    B．typically                    C．burning             D．struggled             E．surely F．barriers                    G．winding                    H．convention       I．matter                    J．essentials K．obsession

The Art of Blooming Late

In his teens and early twenties, Mozart had to work as an organist and concertmaster in his native Salzburg to make ends meet. Though a celestial genius, he     1     like a mere mortal. Underpaid and unfulfilled, he felt a(n)     2     desire to devote more time and energy to his art. So after a period of doubt and deliberation, that’s exactly what he did. He quit his job and embarked on what turned out to be the most productive and creative period of his life.

Even if you never hope to reach Mozart’s level of mastery, you may relate to his need to break free from     3    . Maybe you’ve done everything right—     4     at school, worked hard, and landed a good, high-paying job—but you’re tired of being just like everyone else. Maybe you yearn to do more personally fulfilling work, like founding a start-up or turning a hobby into a full-fledged career.

However, drafting a plan of action can be daunting. What, then, is holding you back? Rich Karlgaard, the publisher of Forbes magazine and author of Late Bloomers, argues that our culture’s     5     with early achievement discourages us from pursuing our passions. Instead of having varied interests, studying widely, and taking our time—     6     for self-discovery—we’re encouraged to ace tests, become specialists right away, and pursue safe, stable, and lucrative careers. As a result, most of us end up choosing professional excellence over personal fulfillment, and often we lose ourselves in the process.

To prompt a revolution in your own life, there are a few things to keep in mind. First and foremost, it’s never too late to “become” yourself. Aristotle, for example, didn’t fully devote himself to writing and philosophy until he was nearly 50. There are also benefits to taking a long,     7     path to self-fulfillment. Remember that age     8     brings wisdom ,resilience, self-knowledge, and creativity. Citing the work of developmental psychologist Erik Erikson, Karlgaard writes, those “ages 40 to 64 constitute a unique period where one’s creativity and experience combine with a universal human longing to make our lives     9    .”

That said, once you’ve decided to embark on the journey, it may take years, if not longer, to reach your destination. But as research has shown, small daily changes can have a compound effect and slowly but     10     lead you closer to the person you think you ought to be.

【推荐2】Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. struggle	B. roughly	C. major	D. causes	AB.charged	AC.feature
AD.significantly	BC.motives	BD.identify	CD.potential	ABC.ruled

The Science Behind Why People Give Money to Charity

This question has fascinated behavioral scientists for decades: why do we give money to charity?

The explanations for charitable giving fall into three broad categories, from the purely altruistic(利他的). The “impurely” altruistic — I donate because I obtain value from knowing I contribute to the social good for the charity. And the the not-at-all altruistic — I donate because I want to show off to     1     mates how rich I am.

But are these     2     strong enough to enable people to donate as much as they would want to? Most people support charities in one way or another, but often we     3    to make donations as often as we think we should. Although many people would like to leave a gift to charity in their will, they forget about it when the time comes. Our research shows that if the will-writer just asks someone if they would like to donate, they are more likely to consider it and the rate of donation     4     doubles.

Many people are also aware that they should donate to the     5     that have the highest impact, but facts and figures are less attractive than narratives. In a series of experiments, it was found that people are much more responsive to charitable requests that     6     a single, identifiable beneficiary(受益者), than they are to statistical information about the scale of the problem being faced. When it comes to charitable giving, we are often     7     by our hearts and not our heads.

Another of the     8     findings from the research in this area is that giving is fundamentally a social act. One study shows that people give     9     more to their university if the person calling and asking for their donation is their former roommate. Researchers found that when JustGiving donors see that the donor before them has made a large donation, they make a larger donation themselves.

In summary, behavioural scientists     10     a range of factors that influence our donations, and can help us to keep giving in the longer term. This is great news not just for charities, but also for donors.

【推荐2】Complete their discussion using the correct form of words and phrases below.

socialise	rude	dominate
chatter away	I’m not sure	I agree with that
in my opinion	associate with	social media

Chen Yang:     1    , friendships online can be real and meaningful just like    2     in person. I have some friends and we     3    online every day. I know them well and they know me!
Li Zhen:     4     whether you can have a real friendship without meeting the person in real life. People aren’t really themselves unless you talk with them face to face.
Chen Yang:     5    . Sometimes on     6     people are really    7     to each other or even lie about who they are.
Zhang Lei: Well I agree with Chen Yang. Social networking     8     our lives nowadays. We need to accept that. I have some good friends who live in other countries. Thanks to the Internet. we can     9     each other. I consider them my true friends.