【推荐1】A child who has once been pleased with a tale likes, as a rule, to have it retold in almost the same words, but this should not lead parents to treat printed fairy stories as formal texts. It is always much better to tell a story than read it out of a book, and, if a parent can produce what, in the actual situation of the time and the child, is an improvement on the printed text, so much the better.
A charge made against fairy tales is that they harm the child by frightening him or making him sad thinking. To prove the latter, one would have to show in a controlled experiment that children who have read fairy stories were more often sorry for cruelty than those who had not. As to fears, there are, I think, some cases of children being dangerously terrified by some fairy story. Often, however, this arises from the child having heard the story once. Familiarity with the story by repetition turns the pain of fear into the pleasure of a fear faced and mastered.
There are also people who object to fairy stories on the grounds that they are not objectively true, that giants, witches, two-headed dragons, magic carpets, etc. do not exist; and that, instead of being fond of the strange side in fairy tales, the child should be taught to learn the reality by studying history. I find such people, I must say so peculiar that I do not know how to argue with them. If their case were sound, the world should be full of mad men attempting to fly from New York to Philadelphia on a stick or covering a telephone with kisses in the belief that it was their beloved girlfriend.
No fairy story ever declared to be a description of the real world and no clever child has ever believed that it was.
1. The author considers that a fairy story is more effective when it is ________.

A．repeated without any change	B．treated as a joke
C．made some changes by the parent	D．set in the present

2. According to the passage, great fear can take place in a child when the story is ________.

A．in a realistic setting	B．heard for the first time
C．repeated too often	D．told in a different way

3. The advantage claimed (提出) for repeating fairy stories to young children is that it ________.

A．makes them less fearful

B．develops their power of memory

C．makes them believe there is nothing to be afraid of

D．encourages them not to have strange beliefs

4. The author’s mention of sticks and telephones is meant to suggest that ________.

A．fairy stories are still being made up

B．there is some misunderstanding about fairy tales

C．people try to modernize old fairy stories

D．there is more concern for children's fears nowadays

5. One of the reasons why some people are not in favor of fairy tales is that _______.

A．they are full of imagination

B．they just make up the stories which are far from the truth

C．they are not interesting

D．they make teachers of history difficult to teach

【推荐3】The need of plus-size consumers has long been the elephant in the room of the fashion industry until body positivity and fat acceptance movements promoted that large-bodied people are not those who are left behind. This trend has become so popular that it is influencing mainstream culture. As a result, fashion brands have finally decided to expand their size ranges. In 2022, the plus-size market grew twice as fast as the standard size market in both North America and the UK.

Yet, many consumers say fashion brands broadening their ranges are not truly inclusive (包容的). “Inclusive sizing means that all bodies are included in fashion, not just the ones who fit in standard sizes,” says Marie North, a UK-based journalist who covers body-image issues. “However, what many designers do right now is pick a number that they think is big enough to include plus sizes and stop. This is even more disrespectful.”

Researchers also criticize (批评) that some brands are just taking advantage of the trend. “Brands that used to promote so-called perfect bodies in their advertisements are now trying to get in on the trend by adding a few sizes. It doesn’t feel like they really care about plus-size people,” says Michael Burgess, analyst in fashion industry. “If brands cared about large-bodied consumers, then it wouldn’t have taken until now to acknowledge that they exist,” he says. “It gives the impression that companies are just trying to gain a share of the market without a real devotion to the community.”

The fashion industry must go beyond merely producing clothing in a range of sizes if they hope to succeed with a body-diverse world. The whole industry has to connect on a personal level with consumers. That involves showing shoppers that they are seen, understood and important to brands. “Consumers care about values, and so they want to buy from brands that reflect the values they believe in. Everyone should enjoy the same range of fashion choices,” says Ludovica Ospina, professor of marketing at the College of Business.

1. What do the underlined words “the elephant in the room” in paragraph 1 mean?

A．Hardly satisfied.	B．Socially accepted.
C．Widely promoted.	D．Obvious but ignored.

2. What is Marie North’s attitude towards the all-size trend?

A．Unclear.

B．Negative.

C．Puzzled.

D．Cautious.

3. For what are some brands criticized by researchers?

A．Their motivation.	B．Their promotion.
C．Their devotion.	D．Their advertisement.

4. What should fashion industry do in a body-diverse world?

A．Provide more fashion choices.

B．Show respect to the consumers.

C．Produce clothes in various sizes.

D．Build private relationships with customers.

【推荐1】Psychological science is full of interesting topics, many of which tell a coherent picture of human nature, but some of which create seemingly contradictory stories. A case in point is the tricky and misunderstood overlap between strength-based science and the research on narcissism (自恋).

There is now convincing evidence to show that narcissism is on the rise, especially in our youth. Some researchers say that about 25% of young people showing symptoms of narcissism. The inflated ego of Generation Me is reflected in reality TV, celebrity worship, and out-of-control consumerism.

We are correct to be concerned about this phenomenon, but our fear that all kids are potential narcissists has caused an unhelpful counter-reaction to approaches that seek to make our children and teens feel good about themselves.

In my own research on strength-based parenting, it is common for people to wrongly think this approach to be the cause of narcissism. Their argument seems to be that a child who knows their strengths will automatically view themselves as better than everyone else. It is argued that the self-assurance that comes with identifying and using their positive qualities will make a child selfish and uncaring. Genuine confidence about one’s strengths is categorized as over-confidence; desirable self-knowledge is branded as excessive self-admiration.

Why does this occur? It’s partly because more is known about narcissism than strengths. While strengths psychology has largely stayed within the limit of academic journals, research on narcissism has made its way into the mass media and our daily life. The New York Times noted that narcissism is a favored topic and that people everywhere are diagnosing others with it.

The fear that a strength-based approach will cause narcissism also occurs because of our binary (非此即彼) thinking. We mistakenly believe that one cannot be both confident and humble. We focus on Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian rather than Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa. Without confidence in their strengths, Gandhi and Mother Teresa couldn’t have achieved so much, and yet modesty and selflessness are their qualities.

When we assume that strength-focus is the same as a self-focus, we fail to make the idea clear that people who know their strengths are, actually, more likely to be pro-social and ready to help others.

It’s easy to conclude that every young person is at risk of becoming a narcissist but I’d like to stand up for the thousands of young kids I have worked with who are caring, thoughtful and humble — even when they use their strengths.

1. Which of the following opinions may the writer agree with?

A．Strength-based parenting leads to narcissism.

B．It’s unhelpful for us to make our children feel good about themselves.

C．To say all kids are potential narcissists is overstating the case.

D．Children who know their strengths tend to be more selfish and uncaring.

2. Why are teenagers’ strengths often considered as narcissism?

A．There is a lack of narcissism in our common sense.

B．Academic journals report more on narcissism.

C．Many people are diagnosed with narcissism by doctors.

D．The general public has less access to strengths psychology.

3. What’s the author’s attitude towards young kids’ strength-based approaches?

A．Skeptical.

B．Favorable.

C．Neutral.

D．Doubtful.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Teens’ Confidence Misunderstood	B．Teens’ Narcissism Diagnosis
C．Teens’ Strength-based Approach	D．Teens’ Psychology Research

【推荐2】The thing that sets children apart from adults is not their ignorance，nor their lack of skills．Rather，it's their enormous capability for joy．A friend told me a story．One day，when she went to get his 6-year-old son from soccer practice，her kid greeted her with a sad face．The teacher had criticized him for not focusing on his soccer drills．The little boy walked out of the school with his head and shoulders hanging down．He seemed wrapped in sadness．But before reaching the car door，he suddenly stopped，crouching(蹲伏)down to look at something on the sidewalk．“Mom，come here! This is the strangest bug I’ve ever seen．It has ，1ike， a million legs．It’s amazing!”The little face was overflowing with indescribable excitement．

Nowadays，however，when we walk into a classroom，especially in a high school，we’ll be choked by towering books and papers，and hiding behind them are a group of motionless creatures，pens in hand，minds dry，just as the hollow men portrayed by T．S．Eliot．Their pursuit of joy has given way to their hunger for grades．Laughter and happiness are a distant memory for them．

Although joy is an unaffordable luxury in today’s increasingly fierce competition，administrators and teachers need a mindset shift from crushing students with assignments to getting them to take pleasure in productive activities which develop their important qualities，like perseverance and obligation．The assumption that pleasure is the enemy of competence and responsibility makes no sense educationally．

Adults tend to talk about learning as if it were medicine：unpleasant，but necessary and good for you．Why not think of learning as if it were food—something so valuable to humans that they want to experience it as a pleasure?

1. How is Paragraph 1 mainly developed?

A．By describing a procedure．	B．By analyzing the process．
C．By giving an example．	D．By collecting data．

2. What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 2?

A．Summarize the previous paragraph．	B．Provide some advice for the readers．
C．Introduce the main topic for discussion．	D．Clarify some puzzling questions．

3. What does the text suggest administrators and teachers do?

A．Stop giving students homework．

B．Involve students in meaningful activities．

C．Supply students with luxuries．

D．Arouse students’fond memories．

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Joy is the spokesperson for learning．	B．Pleasure is the enemy of progress．
C．Education is the paradise for parents．	D．Exams are a never-ending war．