A few years ago, I walked into Panera and placed my order. As I sat down, I noticed that at the table next to me, there was an older man with a cap eating his soup alone. At the sight of this, a feeling of sadness began to wash over me. Why was he eating alone? Was he lonely? Did he want someone to keep him company?
This wasn’t the first time I’d felt sad when I noticed someone eating alone. I automatically assume they’re lonely and need someone to be there for them. For some reason, eating with other people is the norm. Modern society has evolved to the point where most people eat with others and do almost every activity together. If we need to get lunch before a class, we’d rather ask around to see if someone will come with us. But is it possible we just don’t want to appear lonely?
For me, it’s easy to get pressured to have to be around other people when I see everyone else around me accompanied by a friend almost all the time. So many people are always around someone else, and that may make people think we always need someone with us to feel better about ourselves.
But that’s not true. We can enjoy being alone not everyone needs to be constantly surrounded by friends to be happy. And we shouldn’t be afraid to eat alone if that’s what we want to do. We don’t have to do what everyone else does.
Ultimately, I don’t think I’ll ever not get sad if I see someone eating alone, but I’ll bear in mind that maybe they just want a break from the world, or maybe they prefer it that way. It’s important to realize seeing someone doing something alone doesn’t always mean they’re lonely.
1. Why does the author mention her experience at Panera a few years ago?| A．To introduce the topic of caring for old people. |
| B．To start the discussion about people eating alone. |
| C．To describe a memorable encounter. |
| D．To illustrate the benefits of eating alone outside. |
| A．It is a good way to avoid awkwardness. |
| B．It helps maintain social connections. |
| C．It is common but deserves questioning. |
| D．It is unreasonable and unacceptable. |
| A．Uncomfortable. | B．Isolated. | C．Envious. | D．Relaxed. |
| A．Social relationships are unnecessary. |
| B．People need to be alone to recharge. |
| C．Loneliness is unavoidable in our daily life. |
| D．Being alone doesn’t equate to loneliness. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】To err is human. To blame the other guy is even more human.
Common sense is not all that common.
Why tell the truth when you can come up with a good excuse?
These three popular misquotes (戏谑的引语) are meant to be jokes, and yet they tell us a lot about human nature. To err, or to make mistakes, is indeed a part of being human, but it seems that most people don’t want to accept the responsibility for having made a mistake. They naturally look for someone else who could be responsible for the problem. Perhaps it is the natural thing to do. The original quote about human nature went like this: “To err is human, to forgive, divine (神圣的).” This saying mirrors an ideal: people should be forgiving of others’ mistakes. Instead, we tend to do the opposite —— find someone else to pass the blame on to. However, taking responsibility for something that went wrong is a mark of great maturity.
Common sense is what we call clear thought. Having common sense means having a good general plan that will make things work well, and it also means staying with the plan. Common sense tells you that you take an umbrella out into a rainstorm, but you leave the umbrella home when you hear a weather forecast for sunshine. Common sense does not seem to be common for large organizations, because there are so many things going on that one person cannot be in charge of everything. People say that in a large company, “the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.”
And what is wrong with a society that thinks that making up a good excuse is like creating a work of art? One of the common problems with making excuses is that people, especially young people, get the idea that it’s okay not to be totally honest all the time. There is a corollary (直接推论) to that: if a good excuse is “good” even if it isn’t honest, then where is the place of the truth?
1. According to the passage, which of the following seems the most human?| A．To search for truth. |
| B．To criticize others for one’s own error. |
| C．To make fun of others’ mistakes. |
| D．To achieve one’s ideal. |
| A．A lawyer acts on fine judgments. |
| B．A student goes out with an umbrella in stormy weather. |
| C．A company’s next move follows a good plan. |
| D．A man tries to take charge of everything in a large company. |
| A．Making a good excuse is sometimes a better policy. |
| B．Bitter truth is better than a good excuse. |
| C．A good excuse is as rewarding as honesty. |
| D．Inventing a good excuse needs creative ideas. |
| A．A Mirror of Human Nature |
| B．To Blame or to Forgive |
| C．A Mark of Maturity |
| D．Truth or Excuse |
【推荐2】The Haleakalā Movement, which has affected the Hawaiian people, involved many Hawaiian activists peacefully protesting(抗议) against the construction of the Daniel K. Solar Telescope atop Haleakalā. The top of Haleakalā is a very sacred piece of land to Hawaiians. The problem is the leveling out of Haleakalā to structurally support the base of the telescope. Hawaiians could not watch their sacred land atop their mountain destroyed.
The goal of the protesters was to stop the movement of the trucks hauling(拖拽)telescope parts to the top of Haleakalā. At each event, protesters would march on the crosswalk in front of the base yard entrance holding signs that read “Aloha „Āina” and “Kūʻē,” meaning Love the Land and Resist respectively. When the trucks started their engines, several protesters lay down in the driveway, with their arms linked together with PVC pipes. Twenty of them were arrested.
I, as a youth of this generation, am a part of those Hawaiians who stood against the construction of the telescope and the destruction of our sacred mountain. I experienced first-hand and through social media what happened at each protest. Each of the protests that I attended took place at the Maui Base yard, however, there were others that took place atop Haleakalā. Most of the protesters marching were of Maui roots, but there were other protesters that came from different islands to show their support for the natives‟ stand against the destruction of our sacred mountain.
Following all that I had experienced these days, I left with the understanding that the youth of our generation have a very important role. Our role is to learn from the mistakes of the present and guide the world down the right path allowing it to grow and prosper. We, as the seeds of the present, must grow to protect the history of the human race, but at the same time prevent ourselves from repeating the actions and decisions that may have once destroyed us in the past. We, the youth, are the key to the prosperity of the future.
1. What caused the Haleakalā Movement?| A．That the sacred top of the mountain would be leveled out. |
| B．That local Hawaiians stopped the trucks from going uphill. |
| C．That twenty local Hawaiians protesters were arrested by the police. |
| D．That the rainforests on Mt. Haleakalā were seriously destroyed. |
| A．all Hawaiian young people should participate in the movement |
| B．it is important to protect the environment in Hawaii rainforest |
| C．local Hawaiian culture is more important than the advanced technology |
| D．young people are an important factor for tomorrow‟s prosperity |
| A．a teenage student | B．a school teacher |
| C．a government official | D．a policeman |
【推荐3】How to Handle an Argument with Your Family Members
We’ve all been there. A relaxed evening with our family members. A lot of laughing. And then, as if someone had sat on the TV remote and changed the channel, the mood shifts. No more warmth. Suddenly there’s shouting, a ping-pong of accusations(指责), deadly stares, and hostility(敌意) streaming from eyes like red laser pointers. Having a conflict with your family members is frustrating, and you may feel sad and depressed.
Do remember that as much as it might feel this way, you’re not in a court of law with your family members.
Do try to be an advocate of others’ feelings.
Don’t try to explain yourself. You often want to explain yourself when having conflicts with your family members, but you don’t have time. You’re being cut off and attacked again.
| A．If you are looking for a new relationship |
| B．Don’t attempt to prove yourself in the face of your loved ones |
| C．The point of an argument isn’t to prove the others guilty or to win |
| D．Rather than going in circles about what you think and how you feel |
| E．Each accusation strikes deeper and deeper into your sense of justice |
| F．Don’t talk about what happened as though you’re simply stating the facts |
| G．Here are the do’s and don’ts when you are arguing with your family members |
【推荐1】People are being attracted to Facebook with the promise of a fun, free service without realizing they’re paying for it by giving up large amounts of personal information. Facebook then attempts to make money by selling their data to advertisers that want to send targeted messages.
Most Facebook users don’t realize this is happening. Even if they know what the company is up to, they still have no idea what they’re paying for Facebook because people don’t really know what their personal information is worth.
The biggest problem, however, is that the company keeps changing the rules. Early on, you keep everything private. That was the great thing about Facebook—you could create your own little private network. Last year, the company changed its privacy rules so that many things—your city, your photo, your friends’ names—were set, by default (默认) to be shared with everyone on the Internet.
According to Facebook’s vice-president Elliot Schrage, the company is simply making changes to improve its service, and if people don’t share information, they have a ＂less satisfying experience＂.
Some people think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money. Its original business model, which was about selling ads and putting them at the side of the page, totally failed. Who wants to look at ads when they’re online connecting with their friends?
The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington. In April, Senator Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy. He also urged the Federal Trade Commission to set guidelines for social-networking sites.
I think that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade our privacy is only the beginning, which is why I’m considering stopping using it. Facebook is a convenient site, but I’m upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don’t know. That’s too high a price to pay.
1. According to the text, Facebook is ____________.| A．losing more customers | B．becoming a more useful site |
| C．improving its service gradually | D．stealing and selling users’ information |
| A．its service | B．ads |
| C．its products | D．personal information |
| A．To provide better service to its users. |
| B．To follow the Federal guidelines. |
| C．To encourage its users’ communication. |
| D．To gain its users’ more personal information. |
| A．Admirable. | B．Negative. |
| C．Unclear. | D．Supportable. |
We are upon the first anniversary of a shocking killing. Last May, outside of a grocery store in Minnesota, George Floyd — a Black man — was slowly, casually murdered by a White police officer. Floyd's daughter, Gianna, is the same age as you. I know that Floyd certainly didn't choose to “sacrifice”, as one government officer said, his life to the cause of racial justice, leaving her daughter fatherless. Sometimes, when I look at your beautiful face, I think of that little girl and my heart breaks.
My son, you came into my heart almost seven years ago as a gift. You were lucky enough to be born in a country where dreams can come true, so they say, and I hope that this will be the case for you. But you were also born inside Black skin and sadly, that is still a burden to bear in today's America. Every day I pray for strength so that I may help you to carry that burden, make you proud of who you are, and teach you how to face the challenge of racism.
More than anything else, I pray that I will be able to keep you safe. No child should have to know this, but you will meet individuals who will not see you as human because of the color of your skin. Some of them will even be the very people who have promise to protect and serve you, and they can be police.
Since 400 years ago, Black and brown people have been fighting, first for our freedom and now for equality. Our ancestors did not live to see their efforts rewarded, but sometimes something shocking happens will bring change in its wake. Sadly, that something is often the murder of someone who looks like you.
Your father
1. What led to the death of George Floyd?| A．It was a natural death. | B．He had a heart attack. |
| C．He was killed by a white policeman. | D．He chose to sacrifice to the cause of racial justice. |
| A．The son is nearly 8 years old now. |
| B．The father feels heart-breaking for the girl’s ordinary appearance. |
| C．The father thinks it very safe to be a black person in America. |
| D．Americans still have a long way to go to remove racial prejudice. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Pessimistic. | C．Neutral. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Orphans’ upbringing. | B．Sever racial discrimination. |
| C．Children’s education. | D．The dangerous living environment. |
【推荐3】Everywhere you go, it seems like people are using something to reduce the noise in their lives. They wear over-ear headphones on public transportation, during long flights, or in open-plan offices, or use colored earplugs (耳塞) at concerts. Silence is now big business, with the global market for noise-cancelling headphones bringing $13.1 billion in 2021. Experts predict that this figure will triple by 2031. While these market-based solutions are becoming popular, they raise a question: Are there physical and social effects to shutting out the world around us?
Noise-cancelling technology was first developed in the 1950s to reduce cockpit noise for pilots. The headphones today use technology known as active noise control. However, too much of a good thing also has its downsides. Many studies have shown that constant earplug wearing, day and night, over just one week can lead to a condition known as tinnitus (耳鸣). “When you stop listening to outside sounds, your brain starts to turn up its ‘internal volume’ so that it can still pick up on things.” McAlpine says. “If you stop the sound going into your ears, it’s like messing with how your brain is supposed to work naturally.”
When it comes to distraction (干扰), the type of noise may matter as much as volume. Moderate (适中的) background noise, around 70dB, has been found to advance performance on creative tasks, for example. “Some people can work really effectively in buzzy cafes and even airports, and yet they can’t focus in the same way in an office. Even if it isn’t as noisy,” McAlpine says. “Your brain in the office is automatically paying attention to all those other conversations — because they might be about something you need to know.”
How, then, can we deal with all the loud distractions in our modern lives? An over-dependence on noise-cancelling technology is not necessarily the solution, says McAlpine. “We have given more control to outside sources over our sound environment compared to our visual environment,” he says. If people started wearing AR/VR goggles and living in their own virtual worlds instead of focusing on improving the physical environment, “And that’s problematic.”
1. What is the purpose of noise-cancelling headphones?| A．To pick up the sounds. |
| B．To reduce the rate of tinnitus. |
| C．To improve performance on creative tasks. |
| D．To create a sense of silence in noisy environments. |
| A．Wearing noise-cancelling headphones has no physical or social costs. |
| B．Creative task performance can be improved by the moderate background noise. |
| C．Noise-cancelling technology was first developed in the 1950s for concertgoers. |
| D．The global market for noise-cancelling headphones is believed to drop by 2031. |
| A．Lively. | B．Advanced. | C．Interesting. | D．Quiet. |
| A．Negative. | B．Objective. | C．Optimistic. | D．Indifferent. |
【推荐1】Technological change is everywhere and affects every aspect of life, mostly for the better. However, social changes that are brought about by new technology are often mistaken for a change in attitudes.
An example at hand is the involvement of parents in the lives of their children who are attending college. Surveys (调查) on this topic suggest that parents today continue to be “very” or “somewhat” overly-protective even after their children move into college dormitories. The same surveys also indicate that the rate of parental involvement is greater today than it was a generation ago. This is usually interpreted as a sign that today’ s parents are trying to manage their children’s lives past the point where this behavior is appropriate.
However, greater parental involvement does not necessarily indicate that parents are failing to let go of their “adult” children.
In the context (背景) of this discussion, it seems valuable to first find out the cause of change in the case of parents’ involvement with their grown children. If parents of earlier generations had wanted to be in touch with their college-age children frequently, would this have been possible? Probably not. On the other hand, does the possibility of frequent communication today mean that the urge to do so wasn’t present a generation ago? Many studies show that older parents — today’ s grandparents — would have called their children more often if the means and cost of doing so had not been a barrier.
Furthermore, studies show that finances are the most frequent subject of communication between parents and their college children. The fact that college students are financially dependent on their parents is nothing new; nor are requests for more money to be sent from home. This phenomenon is neither good nor bad; it is a fact of college life, today and in the past.
Thanks to the advanced technology, we live in an age of bettered communication. This has many implications well beyond the role that parents seem to play in the lives of their children who have left for college. But it is useful to bear in mind that all such changes come from the technology and not some imagined desire by parents to keep their children under their wings.
1. The surveys inform us of ______ .| A．the development of technology |
| B．the parents’ over-protection of their college children |
| C．the changes of adult children’s behavior |
| D．the means and expenses of students’ communication |
| A．parents today are more protective than those in the past |
| B．the disadvantages of new technology outweigh its advantages |
| C．parents’ changed attitudes lead to college children’s delayed independence |
| D．technology explains greater parental involvement with their children |
| A．Dependence or Independence |
| B．Technology or Attitude |
| C．Family Influences or Social Changes |
| D．College Management or Communication Advancement |
【推荐2】There is an old Chinese proverb that states “One generation plants the trees; another gets the shade,” and this is how it should be with mothers and daughters. The relationship between a mother and a daughter is sometimes confusing. The relationship can be similar to friendship. However, the mother and daughter relationship has unique characteristics that distinguish it from a friendship. These characteristics include a hierarchy (等级) of responsibilities and unconditional love, which preclude mothers and daughters from being best friends.
Marina, 27 years old, said, “I love spending time with my mom, but I wouldn’t consider her my best friend. Best friends don’t pay for your wedding. Best friends don’t remind you how they carried you in their body and gave you life! Best friend: don’t tell you how wise they are because they have been alive at least 20 years longer than you.” This doesn’t mean that the mother and daughter relationship can’t be very close and satisfying.
While some adult relationships are still troubled, many find them to be extremely rewarding. This generation of mothers and adult daughters has a lot in common, which increases the likelihood of shared companionship. Mothers and daughters have always shared the common experience of being homemakers, responsible for maintaining and passing on family values and traditions. Today contemporary mothers and daughters also share the experience of the workforce and technology, which may bring them even closer together.
Best friends may or may not continue to be best friends, but for better or worse, the mother and daughter relationship is permanent, even if for some unfortunate reason they aren’t speaking. The mother and child relationship is closer than any other. There is not an equal relationship. Daughters should not feel responsible for their mother’s emotional well-being. It isn’t that they don’t care deeply about their mothers. It’s just that they shouldn’t be burdened with their mother’s well-being.
The mother and daughter relationship is a relationship that is not replaceable by any other. Mothers never stop being mothers, which includes frequently wanting to protect their daughters and often feeling responsible for their happiness. Mothers always “trump (胜过)” friends.
1. What does the underlined word “preclude” in paragraph 1 probably mean?| A．differ | B．prevent | C．benefit | D．change |
| A．The mother and daughter relationship can be replaced by a best friend. |
| B．A mother’s love brings her and her daughter a close friendship. |
| C．The mother and daughter relationship goes beyond best friends’ friendship. |
| D．Marina has a troubled relationship with her mother. |
| A．By listing data. | B．By giving explanations. |
| C．By quoting sayings. | D．By giving examples. |
| A．How to Be a Good Mother and Daughter? | B．Who Is a Mother’s Best Friend? |
| C．Mothers or Friends? | D．Can a Mother Be a Daughter’s Best Friend? |
【推荐3】Despite earning more than $ 100,000 in household income, many people feel that they are living month to month and that a loss of employment or sudden medical emergency could easily move them from the upper middle class to low income earners. This feeling of being on the “edge” of poverty, despite these levels of income, seems a bit ridiculous but it really comes down to easy credit, misunderstanding of their incomes and peer group pressures.
Even in today’s tough economy, for those with six-figure incomes credit is easy to come by. Credit companies may have cut back offerings to those in lower income brackets due to the recent credit reforms, but there seems to be little or no effect on high income earners. Their being able to get credit without difficulty gives them a false sense of security that makes them spend way more than their incomes can afford. That’s why they accumulate credit card debt faster than average.
Many higher income earners feel like they are making lots of money now, and believe that they will continue to make big money. This may reduce their feeling that they need to watch their money carefully now. Hand in hand with that, many of them probably believe that they are making more money than they really are — or said another way, the money they make will go farther than it really does.
Meanwhile, many young professionals who are earning good incomes don't come from particularly privileged backgrounds, and their reference point may be that they are making twice (or more) than their parents were — so they spend like that as well. They don’t take account of the effect of inflation, which means that the cost of living is much higher than that in their parents’ generation. Further, the more you earn, the more you pay in tax. Rather than focusing on after-tax incomes, many high income earners only look at the top line figures. A $ 100,000 income before tax is only about $ 70,000 after tax.
1. Who is the text centered on?| A．The upper middle class. | B．The lower income group. |
| C．People living in poverty. | D．People getting into debt. |
| A．Lack of real budget. | B．Easy availability of credit. |
| C．The good economic climate. | D．Their privileged backgrounds. |
| A．They should focus on their top line figures. |
| B．They need to look ahead rather than look back. |
| C．They actually don't earn as much as they think. |
| D．They should form good personal financial habits. |
| A．Effects of peer group pressures. | B．Ways to keep financial stability. |
| C．Harm of poor money management. | D．Tips on reducing the risk of poverty. |
