Scientists who study happiness have evidence (证据) to show that being kind to others can result in happiness. Acts as simple as buying a cup of coffee for someone can lift a person’s mood, for example.
In studies, behavioral scientist Nicholas Epley and I examined a possible explanation: people who do kind acts underestimate (低估) how much the ones receiving kindness value their behavior.
In the experiments, about 1,000 people were asked to do some actions to make someone else feel good. We asked both the person performing the kind act and the one receiving it to answer some questions. The performers were asked to report their own experience and to guess how the receivers might feel. We wanted to understand how valuable people considered these acts to be, so both the performer and receiver had to rate how “big” the act seemed. In all cases, we compared the performer’s expectations of the receiver’s mood with the receiver’s actual experience.
For one, both performers and receivers experienced more positive moods. For another, the receivers felt much better than the kind performers expected. The receivers also rated these acts “bigger” than the people performing them did.
At first, we studied acts of the kindness done for familiar people, such as friends, classmates or family. But we found that performers underestimated their positive influences on strangers as well. In one experiment, performers in a public park gave away hot chocolate on a cold winter’s day to people that just happened to be nearby. Again, the kind act brought more happiness than the performers expected.
These findings suggest that what might seem small could matter a great deal to the person we do it for. Considering these warm actions can improve our own mood and brighter the day of another person, why not choose kindness when we can?
1. What behavior can lift a person’s mood?| A．Listening to music alone. | B．Buying a cup of coffee for someone. |
| C．Cleaning the street with many friends. | D．Traveling to the countryside more often. |
| A．They showed kindness to others. |
| B．They guessed the performers’ feelings. |
| C．They rated how valuable the performers’ act of kindness was. |
| D．They compared the performers’ expectations with their actual results. |
| A．Different purposes of the research. |
| B．More evidence for the research results. |
| C．Possible influences of the research findings. |
| D．Another explanation of the research methods. |
| A．Score. | B．Imagine. | C．Guess. | D．Accept. |
| A．Being kind can reduce one’s happiness as expected. |
| B．Kindness can have unexpectedly positive influences. |
| C．Choosing kindness is more difficult than expected. |
| D．Showing kindness is more valuable than receiving it. |
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【推荐1】Chuanjiang Chants (川江号子) is a form of folk singing performed by Chuanjiang boatmen in order to unify their movements and rhythms (节奏). Chongqing and eastern Sichuan are the main birthplaces of the Chuanjiang Chants.
In the age of wooden boat shipping for thousands of years, the power of wooden boats on the river came from the body of the boatmen. Whenever they headed up against the river or when the boat crossed a shoal, the boatmen had to pull together. Moreover, the long journey was boring and boatmen needed something to relax, and the Chuanjiang Chants came into being.
Chuanjiang Chants are both technical and artistic. Boatmen control the direction of the boat just like a driver is responsible for that of a car. And chants are like the accelerator (油门) of a car, controlling the speed of the boat. Therefore, the chants can adjust (调整) the force of the boatmen through its rhythm, so that the ship can move forward smoothly. At the same time, the chants are always sung in a bright voice, a good tone, and a beautiful sound. Therefore, it is also an art.
However, with the development and popularity of modern ships, Chuanjiang Chants are likely to be forgotten by people, facing an endangered situation. Our county paid great attention to the protection of it and it was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) list. Hope that more and more people can get the chance to know the fantastic culture.
1. The main idea of Paragraph 2 is ________.| A．why Chuanjiang Chants appeared | B．how to sing Chuanjiang Chants |
| C．what Chuanjiang Chants are | D．who sings Chuanjiang Chants best |
| A．Chuanjiang Chants are not only seen as a technology but also an art. |
| B．The boatmen can adjust their force according to the rhythm of the chants. |
| C．Chuanjiang Chants are forgotten by people because they are difficult to sing. |
| D．Chuanjiang Chants were used by boatmen as a way to relax during the long journey. |
| A．How Chuanjiang Chants Disappeared |
| B．How to Sing Chuanjiang Chants |
| C．Chongqing—The Birthplace of Chuanjiang Chants |
| D．Chuanjiang Chants—A Culture We Need to Protect |
【推荐2】We use energy for many things. We need energy to run and play. We need energy to think and sleep. Where does the energy come from? Energy comes from the Sun, coal, gas, wind, plants and water.
Energy from Food
You get energy from food, such as animals and plants. Animals eat plants to get energy. Plants use energy from the Sun to make their own food.
Energy from Gas
Most cars, trucks, planes and trains get energy from gas. Gas is made from oil. Oil is under the ground. Factories change the oil into gas.
Electricity
Electricity is a kind of energy. We use electricity to run many things. How do we get electricity? We can get electricity from a generator(发电机). It is a machine. A large factory near your town may have many generators.
Energy from Coal
About half of the electricity comes fom the coal. Coal is under the ground. People can burn coal to make energy to heat water.
_________________
People can use wind to make electricity. Blowing wind helps a wind generator to make electricity.
Energy from Water
People can use moving water to make electricity. Water from a river moves through large pipes. The moving water makes the generators move to make electricity.
1. What do plants use to make their own food?| A．Energy from the Sun. | B．Energy from the coal. |
| C．Energy from the wind. | D．Energy from the gas. |
| A．A plant. | B．A car. | C．A generator. | D．A train. |
| A．Coal. | B．Wind. | C．Water. | D．Gas. |
| A．Energy from the Generator | B．Energy from Wind |
| C．How to Make Electricity | D．How to Heat Water |
| A．What energy gives us | B．How to use energy |
| C．Where to get energy | D．When to use energy |
【推荐3】To compete with online sellers, traditional bookstores have tried everything to win customers. And it’s true that a great bookstore can encourage people to read in many ways.
Here are some go bookstores in China and other countries that you should visit.
Eslite Bookstore, Taipei, China
The Eslite Bookstore is a cultural landmark in Taipei. It has fashion boutiques （精品店）, cafes, galleries and other spaces. It also holds lots of reading-relate activities including exhibitions and talks with famous writers.
Sanlian Taofen Bookstore, Beijing, China
It is 11:30 p.m. and getting late. But the Beijing Sanian Taofen Bookstore is still shining brightly. Hundreds of people are staying inside for one thing: to read. The bookstore runs 24 hours a day, and it’s the first bookstore of its hind in Beijing.
Shakespeare & Company, Paris, France
France doesn’t have Shakepeare but it has Shakepeare & Company. Many great writers used to meet here, such as Ezra Pound（US）and Ernest Hemingway(US）. Today, it helps young writers by allowing them to live and work here.
Strand Bookstore, New York, America
Strand Bookstore is a secondhand bookstore. It sells used books for $2-3 each. Sometimes you can find very old and rare（稀有的） books at Strand, for example, a Shakespeare book that was published in 1632.The book is worth $125, 000!
1. Which bookstore runs 24 hours a day?| A．Eslite Bookstore. | B．Sanlian Taofen Bookstore. |
| C．Shakespeare & Company. | D．Strand Bookstore. |
| A．Jane Austin and Mark Twain. | B．Ernest Hemingway and Mark Twain. |
| C．Ezra Pound and Jane Austin. | D．Ernest Hemingway and Ezra Pound. |
| A．Fashion boutiques. | B．Cafes. |
| C．Galleries. | D．Exhibitions and talks with film stars. |
| A．They are buying books. | B．They are talking with friends. |
| C．They are reading books. | D．They are listening to music. |
| A．It sells new books. | B．It is a cultural landmark in New York. |
| C．Young writers can live and work there. | D．You can find very old and rare books there. |
【推荐1】Friendship Day is a day in some countries for celebrating (庆祝) friendship. It’s the best chance (机会) to say “Thank you” to our friends. Most of us may have a few special friends and lots of friends make our life more pleasant and happier. People can do a lot of things on that day. The following are some of them.
Do favorite things together. We may have the same hobbies as our friends. And when we get together, we talk a lot about our hobbies and do what we like to do happily. So we can plan something for this Friendship Day and do what we like best with our friends on that day.
Do some shopping. If we love shopping, we can call our friends and spend some time in shops with them. As friends, we know what our friends really want to have. We can also buy something as a present to give them a surprise on that day.
Have a party. Having a party is the best thing to do together. We can go to a restaurant to eat some delicious food with our friends or play some games with our friends at home. Singing and dancing together will make the party more interesting.
Plan some activities on Friendship Day and thank some people for being our friends. We can tell our friends that we really care about them and enjoy ourselves on that day.
1. What question can the first paragraph answer?| A．When is Friendship Day? | B．Who started Friendship Day? |
| C．Why is Friendship Day interesting? | D．What’s the purpose(目的) of Friendship Day? |
a. eat out
b. do sports
c. talk about hobbies
d. buy some presents
| A．abc. | B．acd. | C．bcd. | D．abd. |
| A．How to make friends. | B．Why friends are important. |
| C．Some information about Friendship Day. | D．Some information about friends and happiness. |
| A．Activities on Friendship Day. | B．The history of Friendship Day. |
| C．The meaning of Friendship Day. | D．The importance of Friendship Day. |
A． | B． | C． | D． |
【推荐2】To remember vocabularies drives a lot of students mad. Are there any useful methods to do it better? Here is a passage for you to read and learn.
Stay up late doing exercises, remembering every grammar rule and reading all English articles you’ve learned again and again... Are these the ways you learn English? The bad news is that this method may do you little good. But the good news is that there are better ways to build your English vocabulary.
·Learn a new English word every day
If you’re not sure where to start, try making cards of the most commonly used words. Another way to build up your English vocabulary is reading. If you like reading about travel, pets or food, read about these topics in English. Look for English newspapers or magazines about your favorite subjects or visit websites or blogs about these topics. Read a few articles each morning, and circle new words. If you like watching movies, pick one and start watching. If you’re afraid you won’t understand everything, you can always watch them with subtitles. Once you’re confident in your English listening skills, try watching movies without subtitles.
·Don’t forget to record new words in a vocabulary notebook
Whenever you come across a new word, write it down. Many English language learners carry a notebook for this purpose. Keep the notebook and a pen at hand. Then, you’ll have something to review while traveling or taking a break.
·Vocabulary learning system
Another thing to do is to develop an organized but easy way of collecting and learning new words. For example, a card system should include the following information，
*Word
*English meaning of the word
*Phrases or sentences
*Related words
*Words of similar meanings and words of opposite meanings
*Chinese meaning on the back of the card
· ▲
It is found that people understand and remember facts better if they are given in logical（合逻辑的） groups. For example, it is less difficult to remember words that are related to each other than those unrelated ones. Creating lists of words related to common themes–such as friendship, family, wealth, careers, sciences–will be much easier to learn and remember than collecting words according to their first letters.
1. In Paragraph 1, the writer introduces the topic by _________.| A．describing the common scenes of students’ ways of learning |
| B．listing the problems that students have when learning |
| C．presenting a few questions that students want to ask |
| D．telling a funny story of language learning experience |
| A．names of books, magazines, or other published works |
| B．translations of foreign films shown at the bottom of the screen |
| C．second titles which are often longer and explain more |
| D．names that describe people’s social positions or jobs |
| A．Understand and remember facts better | B．Collect words by theme or subject |
| C．Remember a list of unrelated words | D．Divide words according to their first letters |
| A．Time order. | B．Space order. | C．From specific to general. | D．From general to specific. |
【推荐3】Embroidery(刺绣) is an important traditional art form in Chinese culture. The most famous embroidery styles are Su embroidery from Suzhou, Shu embroidery from Sichuan, Xiang embroidery from Hunan and Yue embroidery from Guangdong. Shu embroidery has the longest history of all.
Since modern machines can make cheaper embroidery products today, fewer people buy hand-made Shu embroidery products. There are also very few young embroiderers. The skill is endangered.
Meng Dezhi, a national-level inheritor(传承人) of the art form, has been making Shu embroidery for forty years. She used to work at the Chengdu Shu Embroidery Factory. But in 2006, the factory went broke and Meng lost her job. Wanting to save the art, Meng wanted to have her own place and teach Shu embroidery to others.
It’s hard work. Embroidery takes time and patience. Workers need to divide each silk thread(线) into more than ten or even thirty pieces. Each piece is thinner than a single human hair. In 2016, Baidu invited Meng to make a homepage logo for Qixi Festival. It was a small logo, but it required the use of 45 types of sewing techniques(针法) and 35,000 stitches(针).
Meng is teaching in different universities and communities to save Shu embroidery. She believes that Shu embroidery stands for thousands of years of Sichuan culture and should be saved. “I feel that I have the responsibility to pass on Shu embroidery skills to young people, to let it run from generation to generation.” She said.
1. How many embroidery styles are mentioned in the passage?| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
| A．Because Shu embroidery has the longest history. |
| B．Because embroidery takes time and patience. |
| C．Because the Shu Embroidery Factory went broke. |
| D．Because there are fewer people buying hand-made Shu embroidery products. |
| A．破产 | B．损坏 | C．违反 | D．折断 |
| A．By making more Shu embroidery products. |
| B．By making more logos for companies like Baidu. |
| C．By teaching in different universities and communities. |
| D．By encouraging young people to learn the skill. |
| A．Embroidery needs protecting. | B．A traditional art form. |
| C．A famous embroiderer. | D．A hard job. |
