【推荐1】Have you ever splashed out (花大笔钱) on a present for someone you love, spending far more than you would on yourself?     1    .

Splashing out on close relatives may be related to evolutionary psychology. Evolutionary psychology claims that, given the level of familiarity, relatives will usually be given more.     2    . “Since my close relatives share more genes with me, natural selection has selected for the way of investing in close relatives,” says Sigal Tifferet.

Our emotional intelligence (or EQ) may also play a role in determining the extent to which we splash out. Those with higher EQ spent more money on gifts for others, especially people they were close to.     3    . “The idea is that people with higher emotional understanding can better predict their own emotions, as well as those of the receiver,” Pillai says.

    4    . Experts have recognized plenty of others reasons, from cheering someone up to the self-interested. One interesting finding was that married couples in the US, where the divorce rate is high, gave more gifts to each other than married couples in Japan, where the divorce rate is relatively low.       

Yet if we splash out on friends or relatives, that may be nothing compared to what we spend on our kids. Again, this may be partly down to evolution — a desire by the old generation to help descendants(后代). Research suggests that the lower your income, the bigger part of it you spend on children, compared to more wealthy families.     5    .

A．If so, you’re not alone

B．Besides, presents are given to cheer people up

C．And they experienced greater happiness doing so

D．Then a better prediction of emotions is made possible

E．That’s because children’s needs are seen as somewhat fixed

F．And the reason lies in our unconscious drive to spread our genes

G．Of course, it’s not just down to evolution or EQ that we give presents

【推荐2】When I was an official of a school in Palo Alto, California, Polly Tyner, the president of our board, wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times. Polly’s son, Jim, had great difficulty in school. He was classified as the educationally handicapped and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers. But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room. His parents knew his difficulties, but they always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride. Shortly after Jim finished high school, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After his death, his mother submitted this letter to the newspaper.
“Today we buried our 20-year-old son. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on Friday night. How I wish I had known that the last time I had talked to him would be the last time. If I had only known that, I would have said to him, ‘Jim, I love you and I’m always so proud of you.’ I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he had brought to the lives of the people who loved him. I would have taken the time to appreciate his beautiful smile, his laughter, and his genuine love to other people.
“When I put all the good things on the scale and try to balance them with all the irritating (恼人的) things such as the radio that was always too loud, the haircut that wasn’t to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed, etc., I find that the irritations really don’t amount to much.
“I won’t get another chance to tell my son all that I would have wanted him to hear, but, other parents, do have a chance. Tell your young people what you would want them to hear as if it may be your last conversation. The last time I talked to Jim was the morning of the day when he died. He called me to say, ‘Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you. You have to go to work now. Bye.’ That day, he gave me something to treasure forever. ”
If there is any purpose at all for Jim’s death, maybe it is to make others appreciate life more and to tell people, especially family members, that they should take the time to let each other know just how much they care. You may never have another chance. Do it today!
1. What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “the educationally handicapped”?

A．The learning difficulty.

B．The physical problems.

C．The psychological problems.

D．The communication difficulty.

2. According to the writer, which of the following about Jim is TRUE？

A．He was always sad about his school marks.

B．His parents always scolded him about his bad school marks.

C．His study needed more attention from his parents and teachers.

D．He was killed in a car accident.

3. What did Polly think of Jim?

A．He was a lovely boy with a beautiful smile who always loved others.

B．He was physically sick but always happy.

C．He was an irritating boy with some bad habits.

D．He seldom expressed his love for his parents.

4. The purpose of Polly’s letter is to _______. .

A．memorize her son

B．teach parents to appreciate their children

C．teach children how to be good boys

D．give some advice on how to deal with children’s problems

【推荐3】My mother has a dining table which sits right in the middle of her dining room. It was once buried beneath piles of papers—magazines, articles, copies of schedules for vacations she took back in the 1990s, and baby pictures of grand children who are now paying off their college loans.

My brother Ross and I recently flew to New York to visit my mother. “Mom, why don’t we go through all that stuff?” Ross said. “No. Don’t touch it!” My mother said. The next afternoon, when she couldn’t find a bill she needed, Ross suggested it might be put somewhere in the dining room and that we find it together. “Besides,” he said, “all those papers are clearly stressing you out.” However, my mother just said, “Are you boys hungry?” And then she seemed to have lost herself in deep thought.

On our last night there, my mother walked up to us with a small pile of unopened mails, which she had collected at the western edge of the dining table, and said, “Help me go through these.” “Sure,” I said. When we had succeeded in separating wheat from chaff (谷壳), I asked, “Would you want to deal with another little pile of papers?”

My mother led the way, walking into the dining room the way an animal manager might be while entering a cage with tigers in it. Ross and I came in behind her and suddenly he reached for a pile of the papers on one side of the table. “No!” my mother said sharply. “Let’s start at the other end. That’s where the older stuff is.” Finally, we threw 95 percent of the stuff into paper shopping bags. Then I asked what she wanted us to do with them, she surprised us all by saying, “Put them in the incinerator (垃圾焚化炉).”

When I returned home, inspired by the visit to my mother, I sorted out my own accumulated(累积的) piles of papers, sold or gave away half of my possessions, and moved into a smaller house. It seems that my life has been cheaper and easier since then. And it proves that a small change does make a big difference.

1. What did the mother ask her children to do with these unopened mails?

A．To burn them.

B．To read them for her.

C．To collect them together.

D．To pick out the important ones among them.

2. When the mother walked into the dining room, she was________.

A．angry	B．afraid
C．impatient	D．careful

3. What’s the author’s attitude towards his mother’s cleaning up the dining table?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Uncertain.	D．Unknown.

4. What might be the best title of the passage?

A．The precious mail	B．A visit to my mother
C．A happy family reunion	D．The lesson of the dining table

【推荐2】Lithium (锂) is called “white gold” for good reason. The metal’s value has been growing sharply over the last several years, in a large part because it is an essential part of batteries as well as several key sustainable technologies where energy storage is of huge significance. As electric cars, wind and solar power have grown into major players in the energy industry, lithium has become key to engineering a future free of fossil (化石) fuels.

But acquiring lithium comes at an enormous cost. It often works like this: Water containing lithium is delivered to the surface from underground and mixed with fresh water. The mixture then sits in pools to get rid of water, leaving the rest of its contents behind as brightly colored “mud”. Then heat and chemical reactions are used to get lithium from that, changing it into powder which is then packaged and shipped to buyers around the world.

Any accident that releases mine contents into surrounding communities or the groundwater supply could have unimaginable long-term impacts. To be specific, indigenous (土著的) communities often bear the damage, and political leaders have typically given little weight to their concerns. In Arizona, for example, an expanding lithium mine is threatening the Hualapai Tribe’s cultural and historic sites. Recently, mining lithium and other precious metals has brought about conflict: How do you ensure the availability of materials essential to the future of renewables while protecting those communities’ rights?

Mining of the metal is expected to increase dramatically in coming years. Over time, experts say, that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions (排放) by making electric cars more affordable and, therefore, more popular. As environmentally conscious consumers buy electric cars in ever-greater numbers, it’s important to be aware of the dirty process that powers those clean air vehicles.

1. What does the author’s intention of writing Paragraph 1?

A．To introduce the background of an event.	B．To explain a complex industrial theory.
C．To describe a noticeable recent tendency.	D．To predict the future of a main technology.

2. Which may cause enormous environmental damage?

A．Unexpected material leak.	B．Violent chemical reactions.
C．Wrong political decisions.	D．Lithium mine expansion.

3. What’s the author’s attitude towards mining lithium?

A．Intolerant.

B．Uncaring.

C．Favorable.

D．Objective.

4. What’s the most suitable title for the text?

A．High Expense of Lithium Mining	B．Potential Benefit of Using Lithium
C．Hidden Threat behind Clean Energy	D．Bright Future of Renewable Resources

【推荐3】Going against the tide of flocking to well-known tourist destinations on vacation, a growing number of holidaymakers in China tend to spend their leisure time at lesser-known attractions. Reverse tourism (逆向旅游) has appeared as a   new trend among young holidaymakers in China.

According to data from an online travel agency, the number of rooms booked at hotels in less-traveled cities during the holiday was up 30 percent year-on-year. Bookings for four-star or five-star hotels in less-traveled places all increased ten times at a minimum. Some lesser-known scenic spots posted double-digit (两位数的) growth during the holiday. Baimaiquan Park in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, received 52,100 visits in the seven days, up to 15.78 percent year-over-year.

Besides crowds, some vacationers chose less-traveled places to save on the cost of trips to popular destinations. In addition, lesser-known attractions are not as “commercial” as developed ones and are able to offer more actual experiences and natural encounters.

Essentially speaking, total relaxation is becoming a real expectation for many people when they travel. Changes in demand may be the fundamental reason for the popularity of reverse tourism. COVID-19 is another key factor fueling reverse tourism. As preventive measures continue, traveling has an unpredictable quality. Travelers have thus become more cautious and tend to choose local attractions or places with fewer tourists.

“The rise of reverse tourism is not a bad thing,” said Zhengzhou Daily. It means that vacationers now have more options, which brings more possibilities to the tourism market. More importantly, it noted, the trend is set to force popular destinations to improve themselves instead of resting on their past honor.

Jiang Han, a senior researcher, said that reverse tourism will become one of the future directions for the market. To give a real boost to the tourism market, Jiang suggested that more efforts be made to tap the potential of underestimated, lesser-known destinations. It is necessary to dig deeper into the local customs and highlight the local characteristics to improve the quality of local tourism.

1. What do the statistics in paragraph 2 tell us?

A．The popularity of travel agency in China.

B．The high income of hotels during holidays.

C．The contributions of tourism to the economy.

D．The increasing trend of reverse tourism in China.

2. What may be the root cause of the rise of reverse tourism?

A．The impact of COVID-19.

B．Holidaymakers’ changing needs for travel.

C．The lower cost of heading to less-traveled places.

D．The lack of innovative improvements in famous attractions.

3. What does Zhengzhou Daily think of reverse tourism?

A．It will drop with the recovery of economy.

B．It benefits both tourists and the tourism market.

C．It is beneficial to spread local culture to tourists.

D．It blocks the development of some popular resorts.

4. What is Jiang Han’s advice on developing the tourism market?

A．Upgrading the supporting facilities in tourist areas.

B．Improving the management rules of tourist attractions further.

C．Exploring the potential and features of lesser-known attractions.

D．Promoting the local characteristics of China through online media.

【推荐1】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 (同辈) 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(等级) 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 us well. They don’t take account of the effect of inflation(通货膨胀), 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 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．Hie lower income group.
C．People living in poverty.	D．People getting into debt.

2. What causes some people to spend beyond their income according to the text?

A．The effect of inflation.	B．Easy availability of credit.
C．The good economic climate.	D．Their privileged backgrounds.

3. What does the author intend to remind young professionals about in the end?

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.

4. Which of the following might be discussed in the next paragraph?

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.

【推荐2】Half of the world’s population is affected by Asian monsoons (季风), but monsoons are difficult to predict. American researchers have put together a 700-year record of the rainy seasons, which is expected to provide guidance for experts making weather predictions.

Every year, moist (潮湿的) air masses, known as monsoon, produce large amounts of rainfall in India, East Asia, Northern Australia and East Africa. All this wet air is pulled in by a high pressure area over the Indian Ocean and a low pressure area to the south.

According to Edward Cook, a weather expert at Columbia University in New York, the complex nature of the climate systems across Asia makes monsoons hard to predict. In addition, climate records for the area are too recent and not detailed enough to be of much use. Therefore, he and a team of researchers spent more than fifteen years traveling across Asia, looking for trees old enough to provide long-term records. They measured the rings, or circles, inside thousands of ancient trees in more than 300 places.

Rainfall has a direct link to the growth and width of rings on some kinds of trees. The researchers developed a document they are calling a Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas. It shows the effect of monsoons over seven centuries, beginning in the 1300s.

Professor Cook says the tree-ring records show periods of wet and dry weather. “If the monsoon basically fails or is a very weak one, the trees affected by monsoons at that location might put on a very narrow ring. But if the monsoon is very strong, the trees affected by that monsoon might put on a wide ring for that year. So, the wide and narrow ring widths of the chronology that we developed in Asia provide us with a measure of monsoon variability.” With all this information, researchers say they can begin to improve computer climate models for predicting the behavior of monsoons.

“There has been widespread famine and starvation and human dying in the past in large droughts. And on the other hand, if the monsoon is particularly heavy, it can cause extensive flooding.” said Eugene Wahl, a scientist with America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “So, to get a sense of what the regional moisture patterns have been, dryness and wetness over such a long period of time in great detail, I would call it a kind of victory for climate science.”

1. What’s the passage mainly about?

A．The effects of Asian monsoons.	B．The necessity of weather forecast.
C．A breakthrough in monsoon prediction.	D．The achievements of Edward cook.

2. It is difficult for experts to predict Asian monsoons because ________.

A．it is hard to keep long-term climate records

B．there is heavy rainfall in Asia

C．they influence many nations

D．they are formed under complex climate systems

3. What can be inferred from the passage?

A．The trees affected by monsoon grow fast if the monsoon is weak.

B．The Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas has a monsoon record for about 1,300 years.

C．Long and detailed climate records can offer useful information for monsoon research.

D．The rainfall might be low although the monsoon is strong in monsoon-affected areas.

4. What do we know about the research according to Eugene Wahl?

A．It will help people prevent droughts and floods.

B．It should include information about human life in the past.

C．It has analyzed moisture models worldwide.

D．It is a great achievement in climate science.

5. Which of the following best describes the tone of this passage?

A．Humorous.

B．Matter-of-fact.

C．Pessimistic.

D．Friendly.