1 . Popularization has in some cases changed the original meaning of emotional (情感的) intelligence. Many people now misunderstand emotional intelligence as almost everything desirable in a person's makeup that cannot be measured by an IQ test, such as character, motivation, confidence, mental stability, optimism and “people skills.” Research has shown that emotional skills may contribute to some of these qualities, but most of them move far beyond skill-based emotional intelligence.
We prefer to describe emotional intelligence as a specific set of skills that can be used for either good or bad purposes. The ability to accurately understand how others are feeling may be used by a doctor to find how best to help her patients, while a cheater might use it to control potential victims. Being emotionally intelligent does not necessarily make one a moral person.
Although popular beliefs regarding emotional intelligence run far ahead of what research can reasonably support, the overall effects of the publicity have been more beneficial than harmful. The most positive aspect of this popularization is a new and much needed emphasis (重视) on emotion by employers, educators and others interested in promoting social well-being. The popularization of emotional intelligence has helped both the public and researchers re-evaluate the functionality of emotions and how they serve people adaptively in everyday life.
Although the continuing popular appeal of emotional intelligence is desirable, we hope that such attention will excite a greater interest in the scientific and scholarly study of emotion. It is our hope that in coming decades, advances in science will offer new perspectives (视角) from which to study how people manage their lives. Emotional intelligence, with its focus on both head and heart, may serve to point us in the right direction.
1. What is a common misunderstanding of emotional intelligence?| A．It can be measured by an IQ test. | B．It helps to exercise a person’s mind. |
| C．It includes a set of emotional skills. | D．It refers to a person’s positive qualities. |
| A．To explain a rule. | B．To clarify a concept. |
| C．To present a fact. | D．To make a prediction. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Intolerant. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Unclear. |
| A．Its appeal to the public. | B．Expectations for future studies. |
| C．Its practical application. | D．Scientists with new perspectives. |
2 . Teens and younger children are reading a lot less for fun, according to a Common Sense Media report published Monday.
While the decline over the past decade is steep for teen readers, some data in the report shows that reading remains a big part of many children’s lives, and indicates how parents might help encourage more reading.
According to the report’s key findings, “the proportion (比例) who say they ‘hardly ever’ read for fun has gone from 8 percent of 13-year-olds and 9 percent of 17-year-olds in 1984 to 22 percent and 27 percent respectively today.”
The report data shows that pleasure reading levels for younger children, ages 2—8, remain largely the same. But the amount of time spent in reading each session has declined, from closer to an hour or more to closer to a half hour per session.
When it comes to technology and reading, the report does little to counsel(建议) parents looking for data about the effect of e-readers and tablets on reading. It does point out that many parents still limit electronic reading, mainly due to concerns about increased screen time.
The most hopeful data shared in the report shows clear evidence of parents serving as examples and important guides for their kids when it comes to reading. Data shows that kids and teens who do read frequently, compared to infrequent readers, have more books in the home, more books purchased for them, parents who read more often, and parents who set aside time for them to read.
As the end of school approaches, and school vacation reading lists loom(逼近) ahead, parents might take this chance to step in and make their own summer reading list and plan a family trip to the library or bookstore.
1. What is the Common Sense Media report probably about?| A．Children’s reading habits. |
| B．Quality of children’s books. |
| C．Children’s after-class activities. |
| D．Parent-child relationships. |
| A．In paragraph 2. | B．In paragraph 3. |
| C．In paragraph 4. | D．In paragraph 5. |
| A．E-books are of poor quality. |
| B．It could be a waste of time. |
| C．It may harm children’s health. |
| D．E-readers are expensive. |
| A．Act as role models for them. |
| B．Ask them to write book reports. |
| C．Set up reading groups for them. |
| D．Talk with their reading class teachers. |
3 . Whistler Travel Guide
Snow-capped peaks and powdered steeps; sparkling lakes and rushing waterfalls; challenging hiking routes and inviting restaurants — Whistler’s offerings suit every season.
Things to doThe entire town displays the ski-chic atmosphere, hosting dozens of ski and snow board competitions and festivals annually. In the warmer months, more outdoor enthusiasts come out to play. Visitors can try hiking or cycling up the mountains. While Whistler is an ideal vacation spot for the active types, other travelers can enjoy the local museums and art galleries filled within formative exhibits. Plus, there are family-friendly activities and attractions like summer concerts, along with plenty of shopping options.
When to visitThe best times to visit Whistler are from June through August and between December and March.
How to get aroundThe best ways to get around Whistler are on foot or by bike. Or, you can take the shuttlebuses from Whistler Village, which transport visitors to Lost Lake Park and the Marketplace. Meanwhile, having a car will allow you the freedom to explore top attractions like Whistler Train Wreck and Alexander Falls without having to spend a lot of cash on a cab.
What you need to know●Whistler receives feet of snow each year. If you’re driving in winter, slow down and make sure to rent or come with a reliable SUV.
●Snowslides are likely to occur on Backcountry routes, so only advanced skiers should take to this off-the-map area.
●Whistler’s wilderness is home to many black and grizzly bears. Keep your distance and do not feed them.
1. What are active travelers recommended to do in Whistler?| A．Bike up the mountains. | B．Host ski competitions. |
| C．Go shopping at the malls. | D．Visit museum exhibitions. |
| A．Whistler Village. | B．Lost Lake Park. | C．The Marketplace. | D．Whistler Train Wreck. |
| A．Driving a rented SUV. | B．Feeding grizzly bears. |
| C．Exploring the wilderness. | D．Skiing on Backcountry routes. |
4 . There is no way they just drove into that water, thought Corion Evans. The 16-year-old teenager was
It was around midnight in July. In the
Evans took off his shirt and shoes without
There was still one girl in the water. Watson, 19, could not
The three girls were rushed to the hospital and well
| A．checking out | B．hanging out | C．staying up | D．breaking up |
| A．slipped | B．developed | C．stayed | D．skipped |
| A．expose | B．tremble | C．sink | D．float |
| A．silence | B．noise | C．sadness | D．darkness |
| A．casually | B．nearly | C．instantly | D．barely |
| A．whispering | B．screaming | C．complaining | D．claiming |
| A．assumptions | B．explanations | C．hesitation | D．permission |
| A．rescue | B．deliver | C．liberate | D．release |
| A．anxious | B．panic | C．cautious | D．awkward |
| A．health | B．independence | C．strength | D．safety |
| A．drive | B．escape | C．swim | D．surf |
| A．struggling | B．worrying | C．wandering | D．improving |
| A．touched | B．grabbed | C．attached | D．detected |
| A．adjusted | B．educated | C．protected | D．attended |
| A．actions | B．challenges | C．alternatives | D．chances |
5 . What kinds of rooms are your favorite spots for studying? We are going to guess that they are probably not painted bright red or yellow. But maybe they should be. Imagine. You are suddenly asked to prepare for an exam. You have two rooms to choose from. One is a pale blue, and the other is a bright red. Which one do you settle into for study? Is one going to get your brain fired up for learning, or let you relax into a best state of concentration?
According to researchers at Curtin University in Australia, it might be the best to camp out in the bright red room when you are looking to store information. It might sound strange, since we often think of pale rooms — soft blues or light greens — as relaxing, or even reassuring (令人安心的). And they seem to be: The Curtin University study showed that pale colors made participants feel more relaxed and calm, while bright colors increased heart rate. But calming and relaxing, it turns out, may not always be the best environment for deep concentration or knowledge gaining. Reading comprehension (阅读理解) was much better in the bright rooms than in the paler rooms. Although participants reported that they generally preferred the pale rooms to study in as an approach to relax into work, the researchers saw just the opposite — that the bright-colored rooms seemed to lead to greater concentration.
While this might seem only surprising, the finding gets into a rather controversial area of psychological (心理学的) study. The Yerkes-Dodson Law says that a little bit of stress is good for achieving best performance, while too much stress negatively affects it. The higher heart rate and the reports of the bright colors creating a heavy atmosphere might just suggest that a little stress was good for the brain.
1. What is the common idea mentioned in the first paragraph?| A．Few people like bright red or yellow. | B．Pale colors are connected with good grades. |
| C．Light-colored rooms make you feel nervous. | D．Bright-colored rooms are not good for studying. |
| A．Participants’ preferences in colors. | B．How participants reacted to colors. |
| C．Time participants spent in the rooms. | D．What participants read in the rooms. |
| A．Most people know how to make use of colors. |
| B．Stress is needed when you want to concentrate. |
| C．The higher the stress, the better your performance. |
| D．Being relaxed is very important to people studying. |
| A．Findings about people’s favourite room colors. |
| B．Bright-colored rooms can create a heavy atmosphere. |
| C．Room colors can affect one’s academic performance. |
| D．Light-colored rooms help people feel relaxed into work. |
6 . The Steinhardt School’s program in vocal (声音的) performance offers music-based training for a career in music theatre performance. Our curriculum is designed for the serious young musicians who are seeking a program that fully combines the study of voice with the study of acting.
The course content
In addition to voice, acting and dance as well as courses in music theatre history, our program’s music theatre specialization training takes place through an intensive series of music theatre workshops.
The performance opportunities
Besides the work in classrooms and studios, the program offers performance opportunities in fully-staged productions under the guidance of professional directors, conductors, musical directors, and designers. Our guest artists are drawn from New York’s community of professional artists who count Broadway, regional theatre and national tours among their credit. Undergraduate and graduate students also benefit from the extraordinary opportunities available through the diverse offerings of a major university in the cultural capital of the world, New York City.
The graduation
Students specializing in music theatre make their public appearance in their final term as they are presented to New York’s agents, casting directors, directors and producers in their graduation showcase designed to evaluate the work of each student and help them make their first professional contacts in the industry.
The contact details
Telephone: 217-998-5156, 217-998-5157
Undergraduate Inquiries: Professor Dianna Heldman
Graduate Inquiries: Dr. Ana Flavia Zuim
1. Who is the program intended for?| A．University teachers. |
| B．Famous singers. |
| C．Musical students. |
| D．Professional directors. |
| A．Put on a show. |
| B．Evaluate their work. |
| C．Meet a producer. |
| D．Change their appearance. |
| A．Fashion. |
| B．Education. |
| C．Economy. |
| D．Technology. |
7 . A small study out of Skidmore College examined the advantages of morning vs, evening exercise for both women and men. Paul, professor for health at Skidmore, led the study.
“We had the groups divided into evening and morning groups,” he says. “We found women and men answered differently to different types of exercise depending on the time of the day, which surprised us.”
The study showed that for women who want to lower blood pressure (血压), the risk of heart disease or reduce fat, morning exercise works best. Those women hoping for upper body muscle (肌肉) gains or mood (心情) improvement should consider evening exercise. For the men, the findings were somewhat different: Evening exercise lowers blood pressure, the risk of heart disease, and feelings of tiredness. But similar to women, they burn more fat with morning exercise.
“For many people, the best time to exercise will depend on their chronotype,” says Heisz, author of Move the Body, Heal the Mind.
“Chronotype is your body’s natural habit to sleep at a certain time—it’s what decides whether you’re a night owl or an early bird. For the 25% of the population that considers themselves a night owl, getting both enough sleep and enough exercise can be difficult,” adds Heisz.
He continues, “Sleep—which provides your body the necessary time to recover (恢复) and make gains from exercise—should always be the first choice. When it comes to exercise, regardless of research on the advantages of certain exercises at particular times of the day, your results will not be good if it doesn’t allow enough time for sleep.”
1. What can women get by doing evening exercise according to the study?| A．A fat loss. |
| B．A good mood. |
| C．A lower blood pressure. |
| D．A smaller risk of heart disease. |
| A．Give an example. | B．Tell the difference. |
| C．Do an experiment. | D．Explain a term. |
| A．Enough sleep. | B．Low-fat food. |
| C．Plenty of water. | D．Lots of exercise. |
| A．A Night Owl or An Early Bird |
| B．Why Fitness Plan Being Important |
| C．How to Change Your Exercise Time |
| D．The Best Time of a Day to Exercise |
8 . Darcie Hayward will have her five-year-old Alaskan Malamute, Sora, put paws on the pavement every day of the next month to raise funds for Guide Dogs Australia’s PAWGUST campaign.
The initiative, which encourages Australians to walk their dogs for 30 minutes a day for 30 days, is a cause close to the 29-year-old’s heart. Her younger blind brother Lachie, 27, was recently matched with a guide dog of his own, black Labrador Eddie in May after 18 months of tests and compatibility(相容)training.
“Since Eddie arrived, Lachie has been able to walk around without his cane(手杖), feeling like he is just walking his dog, ” said Darcie, who lives in Langwarrin, Victoria. “They are best friends. ” Seeing the difference a guide dog made to her brother, Darcie was overjoyed to be raising funds, so other Australians could one day have their own companion dogs, like Lachie.
“Many people see a guide dog and go, not realizing how much it takes to raise a guide dog puppy so I want to raise some awareness, ” said Darcie. “It’s amazing to see how Lachie’s life has improved, but there are many people without that companionship. It’s really nice to be able to contribute in any way I can. I shared the experience on our local community web page, mentioning we are raising money for guide dogs. Surprisingly, a couple of strangers donated. ”
It seems that Eddie has already been a popular pup with the locals. “There are so many kids who have been asking to pat Eddie that Lachie has to reject them, ” Darcie added with a smile. Excited to be making a positive impact by walking her own dog, Darcie is eager to encourage more people to fetch their leashes(牵狗用的皮带) and tie up their trainers to take action.
1. What is the campaign?| A．A charitable event. |
| B．A training course. |
| C．A walking test. |
| D．A community action. |
| A．Slight. |
| B．Positive. |
| C．Potential. |
| D．Undesirable. |
| A．To save more guide dogs. |
| B．To spread Lachie’s story. |
| C．To help more blind people. |
| D．To interact with the neighbors. |
| A．Do more walking. |
| B．Raise their own dogs. |
| C．Donate some leashes. |
| D．Get involved in the campaign. |
9 . Magic is a form of entertainment that is based on pretending to do things that are impossible. The magician is a specially trained actor. He tries to make the audience believe that he has the power to do things which are against the laws of nature.
Magic shows are entertaining as long as the audience does not discover how the tricks are done. The magician usually depends on his skill with his hands, on his knowledge of psychology, and, sometimes, on mechanical devices(机械装置). Since magic performance is meant to trick people, the use of psychology is important. The magician must keep people from noticing all the movements of his hands and from thinking about the secret parts of his equipment. He must also lead the audience to draw false conclusions. The magician's success depends on the fact that many things seen by the eye are not the things that matter.
Two basic magic tricks are making objects seem to appear and making objects seem to disappear. A combination of these two tricks makes for some interesting effects. For example, the magician puts a small ball under one of several cups. The ball then seems to jump from one cup to another or to change colour. What actually happens is that the magician, employing quick hand movements or a mechanical device, hides one ball. While doing this he talks to the audience and waves a brightly coloured cloth with one hand. The audience is too busy watching the cloth and listening to the magician's words to notice that his other hand is hiding the ball.
Another favourite trick is to cut or burn something, and then make it appear whole again. What actually happens is that the magician makes the cut or burned object disappear by quickly hiding it while the audience watches something else. Then he “magically” makes it appear whole again by displaying(展示)another object that has not been cut or burned.
1. What is the author's main purpose in writing the text?| A．To promote a magic show. | B．To teach people to be magicians. |
| C．To explain the art of magic. | D．To praise the talents of magicians. |
| A．Moving stage equipment. | B．Directing the audience's attention. |
| C．Applying high technology. | D．Keeping the performance in secret. |
| A．Providing examples. | B．Making a summary. |
| C．Drawing comparisons. | D．Explaining a concept. |
| A．Mechanical devices are expensive. | B．Most magicians employ assistants. |
| C．It takes practice to perform magic. | D．Small objects are magicians' favourite. |
10 . It’s easy to believe that robots are stealing jobs from human workers and badly affect the job market; after all, you’ve likely heard that they are tracking and moving packages without the use of human hands.
But there’s no need to worry about a robot takeover just yet, says a new study from BYU sociology professor Eric Dahlin. Dahlin’s research found that robots aren’t replacing (取代) humans at the rate most people think, but people are likely to greatly exaggerate (夸大) the rate of robot takeover.
To understand the relationship between job loss and robots, Dahlin surveyed nearly 2, 000 people about their views on jobs being replaced by robots. They were first asked to guess what is the percentage of employees whose employers (雇主) have replaced jobs with robots. They were then asked whether their employers have ever replaced their jobs with robots.
The study found that only 14% of workers say they’ve seen their job replaced by a robot. But those who have experienced job displacement due to a robot overstate the effect of robots taking jobs from humans by about three times.
“Our understanding of robots taking over jobs is greatly exaggerated,” says Dahlin. Those who haven’t lost jobs overstate it by about double, and those who have lost jobs overstate it by about three times. Eye-catching headlines saying a bad future of employment have likely overblown the situation of robots taking over jobs.
The finding fits early studies, which suggest that robots aren’t replacing workers. Rather, workplaces, where both employees and robots are working together, deliver more value in a way. “An everyday example is an autonomous machine at your local department store,” says Dahlin. “This robot cleans the floors while employees clean under shelves or other difficult-to-reach places.”
1. How did Eric Dahlin carry out his research?| A．By asking people questions. | B．By comparing early studies. |
| C．By interviewing employers. | D．By studying new businesses. |
| A．Bad effects of technology. | B．A fall in laid-off workers. |
| C．Benefits of using robots. | D．The finding of the study. |
| A．Low pay. | B．News reports. |
| C．Physical health. | D．Fewer workplaces, |
| A．Robots can work as human partners. | B．Job markets will be affected seriously. |
| C．All human workers will be replaced. | D．Work experience matters too much. |
