1 . The two-week Harvard Pre-College Program is an intense and exciting experience of the college life. The admission committee is now looking for mature, academically motivated students who will graduate from high school and enter college in 2022.
The Course Experience
With over 30 courses to choose from, you’re sure to find a topic that interests you. Although courses are non-credit and do not have letter grades, you need to attend the class in its entirety. When class is not in session, you can participate in creative and social activities. At the end of the program, you’ll receive a written evaluation from your instructor, as well as a transcript (成绩单).
Time
·July 24 — August 5
How to Apply
Complete an online application and provide supplemental (补充的) materials, including:
·The $75 non-refundable application fee.
·Transcripts from 9th grade to fall 2021 grades: This can include progress reports, report cards, and educational summaries from your high school
·If English is not your native language, submit scores from the TOEFL IBT or IELTS language proficiency exam along with your application.
Cost & Aid
The total fee for a Harvard Pre-College Program 2022 session is $4,950. The program fee includes tuition, room and board, and activity costs for the full two weeks. There is also a non-refundable $75 application fee and $100 health insurance.
A limited number of scholarships are available to assist students who demonstrate financial need. Awards vary based on need, and atypical award covers part of the tuition.
How to contact us
Interested in learning more about the program? Complete our request form, and a member of cur team will contact you.
Phone:(617) 495-4023
Email: precollege@summer.harvard.cn
1. Which is a requirement for students attending the course?| A．Completing 30 courses. | B．Getting required credits. |
| C．Having a full attendance. | D．Prioritizing social activities. |
| A．Health certificate. | B．Academic conditions. |
| C．Financial declaration. | D．Personal integrity. |
| A．$75. | B．$100. | C．$4,950. | D．$5,125. |
2 . Research has shown that two-thirds of human conversation is taken up not with discussion of the cultural or political problems of the day, not heated debates about films we’ve just watched or books we’ve just finished reading, but plain and simple
Language is our greatest treasure as a species, and what do we
So why are we keen on gossiping? Are we just natural
Dunbar
Dunbar arrived at his cheery theory by studying the
As we human beings evolve from a particular branch of the primate family, Dunbar
But as the groups got bigger and bigger, the amount of time spent in grooming activities also had to be
| A．gesture | B．gossip | C．description | D．recognition |
| A．occasionally | B．habitually | C．discreetly | D．originally |
| A．historical | B．natural | C．social | D．cultural |
| A．wasters | B．users | C．masters | D．owners |
| A．witty | B．vivid | C．vital | D．worthless |
| A．supposes | B．rejects | C．highlights | D．outlines |
| A．on the contrary | B．for instance | C．in addition | D．as a result |
| A．comprehension | B．appearance | C．motivation | D．behaviour |
| A．contact | B．attack | C．assistance | D．trick |
| A．concludes | B．recalls | C．requires | D．confesses |
| A．protection | B．prospect | C．responsibility | D．promise |
| A．echo | B．blame | C．ease | D．preserve |
| A．established | B．extended | C．earned | D．consumed |
| A．efficient | B．scientific | C．considerate | D．common |
| A．regular | B．independent | C．widespread | D．physical |
3 . Shipping containers are gaining popularity as an alternative to traditional houses. These 20-or 40-foot containers can be obtained for as little as several hundred US dollars a piece, and it’s not surprising that some industry professionals and even city planners consider them the future of home building. Below are details of some amazing homes made out of shipping containers.
London Container City (I and II)
London’s Container City first sprang up in the heart of the docklands in 2001. It took just five months to complete the original 12 work studios. Shortly after that, a fourth floor of studios and living apartments was built on top of these. The first container city was so successful that another—Container City II—was added to it.
Los Angeles Redondo Beach house
With its modern lines and appealing spaces, the award-winning Redondo Beach House is a luxury beachside showpiece built from eight recycled steel shipping containers, along with some traditional building materials. According to the architects, the modified containers are “nearly indestructible”.
Amsterdam Keetwonen
Amsterdam’s massive Keetwonen complex houses 1,000 students and it is the largest container city in the world. The housing project is a roaring success and features units that are quiet and comfortable. Each resident enjoys a bathroom, a kitchen and separate sleeping and studying quarters. The complex even has central heating and high-speed internet as well as areas for parking bikes.
Mexico M2ATK Container House
M2ATK designed this unique container house for an artist. It’s fully equipped with heating and cooling, a kitchen and bathroom. On the bottom floor of the house are “public spaces” such as the kitchen and living room. The second floor are bedrooms, and the top floor is a studio space in which to work, read and “let fly the imagination”.
1. Compared to traditional houses, container houses are________.| A．easier to maintain | B．less expensive to build |
| C．more comfortable to live in | D．more fashionable in style |
| A．It is the first container city in the world. | B．It’s equipped with modern facilities. |
| C．It features a luxury and unique style. | D．It includes living space and car parks. |
| A．London Container City (I and II) | B．Los Angeles Redondo Beach house |
| C．Amsterdam Keetwonen | D．Mexico M2ATK Container House |
4 . Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language is universal, but that the gestures we use are understood by everyone. We do not realize that waving good-bye is the way to ask a person from the Philippines to one’s side, or that in Italy and some Latin-American countries, curling the finger to oneself is a sign of farewell.
Those private citizens who sent packages to our troops occupying Germany after World War II and marked them GIFT to escape duty payments did not bother to find out that “Gift” means poison in German. Moreover, we like to think of ourselves as friendly, yet we prefer to be at least 3 feet or an arm’s length away from others. Latins and Middle Easterners like to come closer and touch, which makes Americans uncomfortable.
Our linguistic and cultural blindness and the informality with which we take notice of the developed tastes, gestures, customs and languages of other countries, are losing us friends, business and respect in the world.
Even here in the United States, we make few compromises to the needs of foreign visitors. There are no information signs in four languages on our public buildings or monuments; we do not have multilingual guided tours. Very few restaurant menus have translations, and multilingual waiters, bank clerks and policemen are rare. Our transportation systems have maps in English only and often we ourselves have difficulty understanding them.
When we go abroad, we tend to cluster in hotels and restaurants where English is spoken. The attitudes and information we pick up are conditioned by those natives—usually the richer—who speak English. Our business dealings, as well as the nation’s diplomacy, are conducted through interpreters.
For many years, America and Americans could get by with cultural blindness and linguistic ignorance. After all, America was the most powerful country of the free world, the distributor of needed funds and goods.
But all that is past. American dollars no longer buy all good things, and we are slowly beginning to realize that our proper role in the world is changing. A l979 Harris poll reported that 55 percent of Americans want this country to play a more significant role in world affairs; we want to have a hand in the important decisions of the next century, even though it may not always be the upper hand.
1. It can be inferred that Americans being approached too closely by Middle Easterners would most probably________.| A．stand still | B．scream out | C．step forward | D．draw back |
| A．cultural self-centeredness | B．casual manners |
| C．indifference towards foreign visitors | D．blindness to native culture |
| A．are isolated by the local people |
| B．are not well informed due to the language barrier |
| C．tend to get along well with the natives |
| D．need interpreters in hotels and restaurants |
| A．it is dangerous to ignore their foreign friends |
| B．it is important to maintain their leading role in world affairs |
| C．it is necessary to use several languages in public places |
| D．it is time to get acquainted with other cultures |
5 . Dear boss — You have always tried to attract young and youngish consumers, and our consultants have always come up with new ways to label them. I don’t need to remind you that “millennials” and, increasingly, “Gen Z” are our most important markets. The trouble is that coming up with rules to define a swathe of humanity is more art than science. It is liable to apply stereotypes. Luckily you have me, and I’m here to tell you that much of what is written about marketing to today’s most prized consumers is a myth.
Social media has just changed the ways people discover brands from viewing television, newspapers and magazines to surfing Instagram and TikTok; it has weakened the power of marketing as a whole. Such is the ease with which digital natives can fact-check our tricky marketing claims that it is getting harder to build brand loyalty. Online, communication is cheap and prices are readily Googled.
There is a similar temptation to think that physical shops no longer matter. Young consumers love their Amazon deliveries. But what works best is the seamless combination of the digital and physical worlds. Remember those online-only influencer-backed beauty brands like Glossier, which took the world by storm during the pandemic? It turns out that they struggle to get repeat business and have had to pair up with physical retailers. If we want to succeed, we need to offer the best of both physical and virtual worlds.
Gen Z will consider a brand’s sustainability and social impact, but considering something isn’t surrendering to it. They are never brand-slaved. It is chiefly youngsters who buy cheap “fast-fashion” outfits to wear once and then send to landfill. Also, youngsters care less for consumer boycotts than its virtue-signaling parents, thus open to various brands. No wonder, most brands originate from youngsters with duel identities of producers and consumers.
What determines the shopping mode of a generation is their mindset. In Gen Z, lies are easily exposed online, where everyone loves a takedown and hates hypocrisy. We are people just as our young customers are and people will always buy sincerity.
1. What is the article primarily warning readers against in marketing?| A．The excessive use of digital advertising and ignoring traditional media. |
| B．The use of influencers and social media platforms for product promotion. |
| C．Focusing solely on Gen Z without considering other demographic groups. |
| D．Relying on outdated perceptions of young consumer behaviors. |
| A．Young consumers are less interested in brand loyalty. |
| B．Digital natives can check out marketing claims. |
| C．Young consumers prefer shopping in physical stores. |
| D．Social media platforms are misguiding in brand establishment. |
| A．Physical stores are becoming obsolete due to the rise of e-commerce. |
| B．Young consumers only prefer online shopping and home deliveries. |
| C．A combination of digital and physical retail experiences is most effective. |
| D．Physical stores should be completely replaced by digital marketing strategies. |
| A．They commit to social justice and boycott unethical brands. |
| B．They consider a brand’s sustainability but are not controlled by it. |
| C．They are indifferent to a brand’s quality and social influence. |
| D．They only support brands that are created by their peers. |
6 . 
 ________/10 Hardship Judy May, 2020Early on I thought this family was a bunch of complainers. But the focus of this reality show is how sweet family life was in the tough wartime era, which really touched me. But as I watched I noted that the 1940s mid-class family life was not that unbearable. Even though they didn’t have labor-saving facilities, they still had coal fire. Maybe, it’s only due to modern people’s sense of privilege that they promptly forget what immense, bodily labor was involved in the previous chore it replaced. So, the experiment was not that “real”?! Therefore, I recommend, but not highly, this show to you. |
 _________/10 Must See TV-Really! Lily June, 2021For anyone interested in “Reality TV” with an emphasis on “Real”, checkout 1940’s House as soon as you can. The Hymer family from northern England spends 9 weeks living the life of a suburban 1940’s house during the infamous London blitz. Everything they use, wear, purchase, read comes from that time period - including ration books, blackout curtains, Victory gardens, and a self-built bomb shelter. What makes this “House” installment the best in a long line (see “Frontier House”, “Colonial House”, “1900 House”) is the family’s willingness to immerse themselves in the project wholeheartedly. You as the viewer really begin to sympathize with the Hymer family’s struggles to live a 1940’s life with a 21st century mindset. I think most people will come away liking the attitude and spirit of the mother the best - she truly embodies the British spirit that was so essential and prevalent during England’s darkest hour. This is 3 hours of “history” that no one will want to end. Children would also enjoy this as there are 2 young boys (ages 10 and 7) who participate in the program wholeheartedly. |
 ________/10 A bit sinister David February, 2023Although it’s as well made as the other PBS reality shows, this one was disturbing. Many of the hardships imposed on the Hymers are by design, not circumstance. A committee of seven or eight experts privately judges them in a star chamber and decides how strict rationing will be and how much they will be fined for infractions. Watching the children go hungry while the experts debated how much to cut the food budget bothered me. The Hymers live more like lab rats than adventurers. It’s also hard to get worked up about how much wartime Brits suffered from rationing since it was nothing compared to the hardships undergone by eastern Europeans, Asians and even their own soldiers. The show was simply too narrow in scope and sinister. |
1. The ratings of these three users have been hidden. Which of the following three ratings do you think are most likely to be real?
| A．Judy: 6/10; Lily:3/10; David:1/10 | B．Judy: 8/10; Lily:10/10; David:8/10 |
| C．Judy: 6/10; Lily:10/10; David:1/10 | D．Judy: 8/10; Lily:1/10; David:8/10 |
| A．From Judy’s perspective, the Hymers family has always been a bunch of complainers. |
| B．The “House” series consist of “Frontier House”,” Colonial House” and “1900 House”. |
| C．The mother personifies the essential British spirit so most people will like her. |
| D．The PBS reality shows are quite disturbing, especially “The 1940s House”. |
| A．on a website providing reviews about reality shows |
| B．on the advertisement of “The 1940s House” |
| C．on a textbook about how to make excellent movies |
| D．in a fantasy novel about travelling back to the 1940s |
7 . In the heart of the war-torn city, where buildings stood like wounded soldiers, Emma waited inline for her weekly ration. The line moved slowly, a somber procession of gaunt (瘦削憔悴的) faces and threadbare coats. When her turn came, the ration officer handed her the allotted food with a detached efficiency. “Two loaves, half a pound of sugar, and a tin of powdered milk,” he recited. The portions seemed to shrink each week, mirroring the dwindling hope in people’s hearts.
Clutching her meager supplies, Emma hurried through the bombed-out streets, dodging craters and debris. The city, once vibrant and bustling, now lay in a hushed surrender to scarcity and fear. At home, her family’s small garden offered a sharp contrast to the desolation around. Here, amidst the rows of struggling vegetables, her father toiled.
“Dad, let me help,” Emma offered, taking the shovel from his weary hands. Together, they dug into the earth, creating a hidden cache for extra food. It was a secret they guarded fiercely, knowing that in times of shortage, even neighbors could turn against each other out of desperation.
As they worked, Emma’s mind wandered to the days before the war, when food was abundant and their garden was a source of joy, not just survival. She remembered her mother’s cooking, the aromas that filled their kitchen, the laughter that accompanied their meals. Now, each bite of their bland rations was a reminder of what had been lost.
In the evenings, the family gathered around a small table, sharing their rationed food. Conversation flowed, weaving tales of better times, igniting sparks of hope. Emma’s younger brother, Tom, would often ask, “When will we have chocolate again?” It was a question loaded with longing, not just for the sweetness of chocolate but for the return of normalcy.
Despite the hardship, they found reasons to smile. Emma’s father would recount stories from his youth, tales of adventure that seemed like fairy tales in their grim surroundings. Her mother would hum old tunes, filling their home with a semblance of warmth and normalcy.
As winter deepened, the rations grew scarcer, and the hidden cache in the garden became their lifeline. Each day, Emma and her father would check the hole, ensuring their precious supplies were safe. The hole, a mere cavity in the ground, symbolized their resilience, a refusal to succumb to despair.
1. How did the amount of weekly rations appear to change each week?| A．Significantly increased | B．Dramatically decreased |
| C．Remained the same | D．Decreased each week |
| A．A treasure map | B．A buried capsule |
| C．A secret food storage spot | D．A mysterious box |
| A．Abundant food showshow the war has unexpectedly brought prosperity to their family. |
| B．The family’s conversations about a war-free future reflect their enduring hope. |
| C．Meals at the table are silent and rushed, highlighting their fear and anxiety. |
| D．The table becomes a place of conflict where family members argue over limited food. |
| A．It’s a simple craving for a treat, unrelated to the broader themes of the story. |
| B．The desire for chocolate symbolizes a yearning for the comforts of life before the war. |
| C．His wish for chocolate indicates his dislike for the food rationing and nothing more. |
| D．It is a secret code used by the family to communicate about their hidden food. |
8 . “Blame My Brain” by Nicola Morgan, reviewed by Rosalie Warren
As someone who constantly blames my brain for all sorts of things (not my fault — my brain did it!), I was
The subtitle is “The amazing teenage brain revealed” and amazing is, I soon
There are also brain-based explanations of why teenagers need so much sleep, why they don’t tidy their rooms, why they come
Nicola Morgan is not a neurologist or a
There’s plenty of humour and a good few well-deserved digs at the stupidity of parents and other well-meaning but misguided adults, which teenagers will
The illustrations by Andy Baker are great, too. And oh yes — there’s some interesting discussion on the differences between girls’ brains and boys’, if there are any. You’ll have to read it to find out...
1.| A．attracted | B．interested | C．invested | D．introduced |
| A．intended to | B．aimed at | C．targeted by | D．appealed to |
| A．defended | B．dismissed | C．discovered | D．differed |
| A．happens | B．projects | C．evolves | D．limits |
| A．surprisingly | B．immediately | C．unfortunately | D．regularly |
| A．expressing | B．explaining | C．declaring | D．exposing |
| A．living | B．lively | C．alive | D．alone |
| A．sympathetic | B．pessimistic | C．positive | D．negative |
| A．laborious | B．humorous | C．productive | D．professional |
| A．consulted | B．conducted | C．converted | D．suggested |
| A．complicated | B．simplified | C．contrary | D．demanding |
| A．denounce | B．distinguish | C．determine | D．depend |
| A．appreciate | B．hate | C．respect | D．reflect |
| A．confuse | B．combine | C．unite | D．associate |
| A．mind | B．physical | C．mental | D．emotional |
9 . In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waiting to be observed and collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to carry out their work. But in the everyday practice of science, discovery frequently follows an unclear and complicated route. We aim to be objective, but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experience. Prior knowledge and interest influence what we experience. Opportunities for misinterpretation are everywhere.
Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as early forms of science and are full of potential. But it takes collective inspection and acceptance to transform a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is the credibility process, through which the individual researcher’s me, here, now becomes the community’s anyone, anywhere, anytime. Objective knowledge is the goal, not the starting point.
Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer receives intellectual credit. But the community takes control of what happens next. Within the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchers make discoveries; editors and reviewers act as gatekeepers by controlling the publication process; other scientists use the new finding to suit their own purposes; and finally, the public (including other scientists) receives the new discovery and possibly accompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community, the interaction and battle between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual’s discovery claim into the community’s credible discovery.
Two problems exist throughout this credibility process. First, scientific work tends to focus on some aspect of current knowledge that is viewed as incomplete or incorrect. Little reward accompanies repetition and confirmation of what is already known and believed. The goal is new-search, not re-search. Not surprisingly, newly published discovery claims and credible discoveries that appear to be important and convincing will always be open to challenge and potential modification or contradiction by future researchers. Second, novelty itself frequently provokes disbelief. Nobel Laureate and physiologist Albert Azent-Gyorgyi once described discovery as “seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” But thinking what nobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not change their views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.
In the end, credibility “happens” to a discovery claim — a process that corresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of the mind. “We reason together, challenge, revise, and complete each other’s reasoning and each other’s conceptions of reason.”
1. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its ________.| A．uncertainty and complexity | B．misconception and falsehood |
| C．logicality and objectivity | D．systematicness and regularity |
| A．strict inspection | B．shared efforts | C．individual wisdom | D．persistent innovation |
| A．scientific claims will survive challenges | B．discoveries today inspire future research |
| C．efforts to make discoveries are justified | D．scientific work calls for a critical mind |
| A．Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Discovery | B．Collective Inspection in Scientific Discovery |
| C．Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science | D．Challenge to Credibility at the Gate to Science |
10 . There’s nothing like a good night’s sleep — but what does that really mean? It turns out that the answer depends not only on your age, but also on your lifestyle. Some people are productive and happy with fewer hours of sleep, while others need more. Still, experts can determine guidelines that work for most people. The National Sleep Foundation researched the topic and gave new recommendations. The foundation acknowledges that sleep needs will vary—lifestyle and stress should be taken into consideration—but their recommendations offer a general guideline. For example, teenagers need 8—10 hours’ sleep every day.
To create the recommendations, some sleep and medical experts reviewed 312 articles from journals published during the last decade. This is the first time that a professional organisation has developed age-specific recommended sleep duration based on a systematic review of the world scientific literature.
A lack of sleep can be linked to weight gain, because that causes an increase in appetite, according to the foundation. It can also have serious consequences on the brain. People who do not get enough sleep are at increased risk of depression, and can endanger others. Those who become sleepy while driving, for example, risk both their lives and the lives of those around them.
Researchers also have found in the past that too much sleep can have negative effects. Reportedly, low socioeconomic status and depression are significantly associated with longer sleep. However, experts nowadays find that research on oversleeping is still unconvincing and needs more attention. Currently, there is no strong evidence that sleeping too much has health consequences. There is, however, laboratory evidence that short sleep duration of four to five hours has negative consequences. We need similar laboratory studies to determine whether long sleep duration results in physiological changes that could lead to disease before we make any recommendations against sleep extension.
1. What can be learnt about sleeping time?| A．The time you need for sleep is related to your state of mind. |
| B．Experts’ guidelines for sleeping time apply to all the people. |
| C．The less you sleep, the more productive you are. |
| D．The more you sleep, the more energetic you are. |
| A．By interviewing different people. |
| B．By reading lots of articles. |
| C．By consulting other experts. |
| D．By doing systematic experiments. |
| A．Too much sleep may result in social changes. |
| B．Researchers now agree with those in the past. |
| C．More research on oversleeping is needed. |
| D．Research on oversleeping is quite convincing. |
