【推荐1】Conventional wisdom is a major barrier to innovation (创新) that threatens the survival of companies everywhere. It’s based on the assumption that old ideas will always work, so they shouldn't be challenged. While this may be a valid assumption in situations that don't change, it’s unlikely to hold true in a changing situation. In today’s rapid changing global environment, old methods often don’t work, and stubbornly using them can lead to major problems.

Most people seem to agree with conventional wisdom because it gives one a false sense of security. If everyone else believes it, then it must be true. Individuals who use conventional wisdom are certain that they are right, and being right is good. They want to continue using old ideas rather than take risks with changes that might not work. In 1977, Ken Olsen, co-founder and CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), stated “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.” Despite being a dominant leader in the computer industry, DEC no longer exists. People seem to forget that since innovation is a change, there can be no innovation without change. Unfortunately, conventional wisdom prevents leaders, followers and companies from changing and therefore innovating. If companies don’t innovate, but their competitors do, the future is likely to be problematic. Breaking from conventional wisdom has led to many of the most innovative companies and products in history across many industries, so it has a powerful effect on business success.

Ted Turner (founder of CNN) knew little, if anything, about the news business, but he knew it was inconvenient to watch news only at the dinner hour, as was common before CNN. Turner's solution was to create a cable channel dedicated to news 24 hours a day. The news establishment reflected conventional wisdom at the time, and predicted his idea would fail because no one wanted to watch the news all day. However, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that viewers don’t have to watch the news all day for the CNN to work. Viewers just have to watch when they want to get information. Due to conventional thinking, the critics failed to recognize the opportunity that was clear to Ted. They assumed that only what was familiar to them could work in the future.

Conventional wisdom prevents creativity, flexibility and risk-taking, so unconventional leaders enthusiastically break from it. To survive, thrive and maintain competitive advantage, companies must be flexible when reacting to change.

1. The author's attitude to conventional wisdom is ________.

A．disapproving	B．approving
C．supportive	D．indifferent

2. DEC has disappeared probably because ________.

A．the consumers didn’t like its products

B．the CEO stuck to the conventional ideas

C．the leaders lacked the sense of security.

D．the employees took many risks with changes

3. The founding of CNN is used as an example to prove ________.

A．missing opportunities could lead to failure

B．changing could contribute to business success

C．watching news at the dinner hour is convenient

D．conventional wisdom influences business success

4. What does the underlined part probably mean in Paragraph 3?

A．Rocket scientists can ensure the CNN works properly.

B．Most of the viewers don’t like to watch the news at work.

C．It’s necessary to understand when people watch the news.

D．It’s easy to know people needn't watch the news all the time.

5. The passage is mainly written to tell us that ________.

A．old methods are changing with time

B．opportunities lead to business success

C．conventional wisdom limits innovation

D．successful companies need wise leaders

【推荐2】Is future you? It might seem like a strange philosophical question. But the answer to how you think about your future self could make the difference between decisions you ultimately find satisfying and ones you might eventually regret.

The brain patterns that emerge on an MRI (核磁共振成像) when people think about their future selves most like the brain patterns that arise when they think about strangers. This finding suggests that, in the mind’s eye, our future selves look like other people. If you see future you as a different person, why should you save money, eat healthier or exercise more regularly to benefit that stranger?

However, if you see the interests of your distant self as more like those of your present self, you are considerably more likely to do things today that benefit you tomorrow. A paper in the journal PLoS One revealed that college students who experienced a greater sense of connection and similarity to their future selves were more likely to achieve academic success. Relationships with our future selves also matter for general psychological well-being. In a project led by Joseph Reiff, which includes 5, 000 adults aged 20 to 75, he found that those who perceived a great overlap (重叠) in qualities between their current and future selves ended up being more satisfied with their lives 10 years after filling out the initial survey.     

So how can we better befriend our future selves and feel more connected to their fates? The psychological mindset with what we call ”vividness interventions“ works. We have found, for instance, that showing people images of their older, grayer selves increases intentions to save for the long term. Besides, you might try writing a letter to-and then from-your future self. As demonstrated by Yuta Chishima and Anne Wilson in their 2020 study in the journal Self and Identity, when high-school students engaged in this type of ”send-and-reply“ exercise, they experienced elevated (升高的) levels of feelings of similarity with their future selves.

Letter-writing and visualization exercises are just a couple of ways we can connect with our future selves and beyond, but the larger lesson here is clear: If we can treat our distant selves as if they are people we love, care about and want to support, we can start making choices for them that improve our lives-both today and tomorrow.

1. What’s the function of paragraph 2?

A．Generating further discussion.	B．Introducing a research result.
C．Showing the effect of the finding.	D．Concluding various viewpoints.

2. How does the author prove his statements?

A．By offering relevant statistics.	B．By using quotations.
C．By referring to previous findings.	D．By making comparisons.

3. What is paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．Benefits of befriending our future selves.

B．Ways of connecting with our future selves.

C．Methods of changing psychological mindsets.

D．Possibilities of us becoming our future selves.

4. What does the article want to tell us?

A．Making future plans makes a difference.

B．Our future selves look like other people.

C．Getting to know your future self benefits.

D．Your choice affects the fates of strangers.

【推荐3】Five Simple Ways to Increase Your Intelligence

Your IQ, which stands for Intelligence Quotient, is a scientific assessment(评估)of your intelligence. While there are limits based on native intelligence levels, recent studies have shown that it’s possible to increase your intelligence. Your brain needs exercise just like a muscle. If you use it often and in the right ways, you will become a more skilled thinker and increase your ability to focus. Here are five simple techniques to exercise your brain.

1. Minimize(使减少到最低程度)television watching.     1    When you feel like relaxing, try reading a book instead. If you’re too tired, listen to some music. When you’re with your friends or family, turn your television off and have a conversation.

2.     2    Time spent exercising always leads to greater learning because it improves productivity during the time afterwards. Using your body clears your head and creates a wave of energy.

3. Read Challenging Books. If you want to improve your thinking and writing ability, you should read books that make you focus.     3    Besides, it will make you think in more precise, elegant English.

4.    4    Nothing makes it harder to concentrate than lack of sleep. You’ll be most rejuvenated(恢复活力的)if you go to bed early and don’t sleep more than 8 hours.

5. Take time to reflect. Spending some time alone in reflection gives you a chance to organize your thoughts and prioritize(优先处理)your responsibilities.     5    .

A．Early to Bed, Early to Rise.

B．Take some time to exercise

C．Think of new ways to do old things

D．Reading a classic novel can change your view of the world

E．Watching television doesn’t use your mental ability or allow it to recharge

F．Afterwards, you’ll have a better understanding of what’s important and what isn’t.

G．Just as sitting at your desk all day is bad for your physical self, sitting in the same mental seat all the time is bad for your bran.

【推荐2】       For years we have been told that encouraging a child’s self-respect is important to his or her success in life. But child experts are now learning that too much praise can lead to the opposite effect. Praise-aholic kids who expect it at every turn may become teens who seek the same kind of approval from their friends when asked if they want to go in the backseat of the car.
       The implication(含义) of saying “You are the prettiest girl in class,” or talking about the goals she scored but not her overall effort, is that you love her only when she looks the best, scores the highest, achieves the most. And this carries over to the classroom.

Social psychologist Carol Dweck, PHD, tested the effects of over-praise on 400 fifth graders while she was at Columbia University. She found that kids praised for “trying hard” did better on tests and were more likely to take on difficult assignments than those praised for being “smart”.

“Praising attributes(品质) or abilities makes a false promise that success will come to you because you have that quality, and it devalues effort, so children are afraid to take on challenges,” says Dweck, now at Stanford University, “They figure they’d better quit while they’re ahead.”
1. The underlined words “Praise-aholic kids” refer to kids who are ______.

A．tired of being praised	B．worthy of being praised
C．very proud of being praised	D．extremely fond of being praised

2. The author quoted Dr.Dweck’s words in the last paragraph in order to make the article ______.

A．better-known	B．better-organized
C．more persuasive	D．more interesting

3. We can infer from the passage that _______.

A．praise for efforts should be more encouraged

B．praise for results works better than praise for efforts

C．praising a child’s achievements benefits his or her success in life

D．praising a child’s abilities encourages him or her to take on challenges