1 . Search “toxic parents”, and you’ll find more than 38, 000 posts, largely urging young adults to cut ties with their families. The idea is to safeguard one’s mental health from offensive parents. However, as a psychoanalyst (精神分析学家), I’ve seen that trend in recent years become a way to manage conflicts in the family, and I have seen the severe impacts estrangement (疏远) has on both sides of the divide. This is a self-help trend that creates much harm.
“Canceling” your parent can be seen as an extension of a cultural trend aimed at correcting imbalances in power and systemic inequality. Today’s social justice values respond to this reality, calling on us to criticize oppressive and harmful figures and to gain power for those who have been powerless. But when adult children use the most effective tool they have—themselves—to gain a sense of security and ban their parents from their lives, the roles are simply switched, and the pain only deepens.
Often, what I see in my practice are cases of family conflict mismanaged, power dynamics turned upside down rather than negotiated. I see the terrible effect of that trend: situations with no winners, only isolated humans who long to be known and feel safe in the presence of the other.
The catch is that after estrangement, adult children are not suddenly less dependent. In fact, they feel abandoned and betrayed, because in the unconscious, it doesn’t matter who is doing the leaving; the feeling that remains is “being left”. They carry the ghosts of their childhood, tackling the emotional reality that those who raised us can never truly be left behind, no matter how hard we try.
What I have found is that most of these families need repair, not permanent break-up. How can one learn how to negotiate needs, to create boundaries and to trust? How can we love others, and ourselves, if not through accepting the limitations that come with being human? Good relationships are not the result of a perfect level of harmony but rather of successful adjustments.
To pursue dialogue instead of estrangement will be hard and painful work. It can’t be a single project of “self-help”, because at the end of the day, real intimacy (亲密关系) is achieved by working through the injuries of the past together. In most cases of family conflict, repair is possible and preferable to estrangement—and it’s worth the work.
1. Why do young people cut ties with the family?| A．To gain an independent life. | B．To follow a tendency towards social justice. |
| C．To restore harmony in the family. | D．To protect their psychological well-being. |
| A．Response. | B．Problem. | C．Bond. | D．Division. |
| A．Break down boundaries. | B．Accept imperfection of family members. |
| C．Live up to their parents’ expectations. | D．Repair a family item that has broken up. |
| A．To advocate a self-help trend. | B．To justify a common social value. |
| C．To argue against a current practice. | D．To discuss a means of communication. |
2 . Architects often spend months or even years perfecting a design to express their ideas more clearly, convey additional information, or outline the right proportions for a building. However, the urgent issue of climate change is placing new demands on their work. For example, in July, Super Typhoon Doksuri battered China, affecting more than 2.66 million people in Fujian Province alone.
Green architecture that conserves energy and reduces carbon dioxide emissions offers a solution, and concerted efforts have been made in diverse research fields over the past three decades to minimize heat loss. In addition, new buildings have to be tailored to the needs of people’s lifestyles.
Ren Jun, a professor at Tianjin University’s School of Architecture, who designed the first near-zero energy house in China in December 2019, said, “You can construct low-energy, environmentally-friendly houses, but if the interior design and environmental quality don’t meet residents’ requirements, these properties won’t be suitable to live in.”
The near-zero energy house, located-in Banbidian village in Beijing’s southern district of Daxing, won the International Design Award in the United States in January last year. The 400-square-meter property, which stands at the entrance to the village, runs on solar power gathered from rooftop panels, with the addition of a small amount of power from the grid (电网).
Ren said the first obstacle to conserving energy in the property was heat retention, which he attempted to achieve by keeping the indoor temperature at a certain level. The property is divided into five areas: a solar garden in the front yard, a central lounge, a water courtyard, a sponge zone, and a back room. For the exterior walls, Ren used three types of insulation (隔热层), including plastic foam, each about 25 centimeters thick.
Ren also looked for ways to deal with emissions at the house. He decided to install a ventilator, which pipes air that is polluted and replaces it with fresh air from outside in every room at the property.
Ren said it would take three to five years before more ultralow or near-zero energy buildings appeared in Chinese cities.
1. Which is not an important factor for designing green houses?| A．Energy consumption. | B．Carbon emission. |
| C．People’s lifestyle. | D．Architecture style. |
| A．The house consumes little electricity. |
| B．The house is deliberately designed to keep heat. |
| C．The house is equipped with many intelligent facilities. |
| D．The house is the first International Design Award-winning building in China. |
| A．He designed the house in five stories to trap heat in it. |
| B．He applied 75 centimeters of plastic foam to exterior walls. |
| C．He tailored the interior design to the demand of local people. |
| D．He installed a ventilator to cut down carbon dioxide emissions. |
| A．Green Homes Offer Hope amid Climate Change |
| B．Green Houses Feature Near-Zero Energy Consumption |
| C．Ren Jun Won the International Design Award |
| D．China Strives for Low Carbon Strategy with Green Houses |
3 . The true test of an effective team is one where the members operate as a self-managing team. The
I followed up with one of our customers to see first-hand what a very successful team looked and felt like. Here is their story on what they do to
This team
The reason why I know this information is that when you have the opportunity to see how a team really works, you want to
As I stayed and communicated with the team members to find out how they worked together, they described to me their requirements for team development.
They said, “Each member has a good time, and we are in tune (协调) with each other, and we have a great
Their hard work and effort paid off as they became known as “the stars” of the company. They were described as “
It is clear that this team developed to compete for the goal instead of against each other. This team has stayed
| A．leader | B．learner | C．waiter | D．customer |
| A．defend against | B．look into | C．leave out | D．serve as |
| A．set out | B．stand out | C．work out | D．run out |
| A．accounts for | B．concentrates on | C．consists of | D．cares about |
| A．conditions | B．habits | C．states | D．attitudes |
| A．bothered | B．reminded | C．trained | D．observed |
| A．far from | B．in return for | C．apart from | D．in case of |
| A．pay | B．mood | C．diet | D．rent |
| A．delivery | B．smell | C．quality | D．shape |
| A．compare | B．uncover | C．adjust | D．keep |
| A．taste | B．bite | C．review | D．sense |
| A．limitation | B．prejudice | C．purpose | D．complaint |
| A．special | B．normal | C．hesitant | D．ridiculous |
| A．pity | B．security | C．pride | D．tense |
| A．self-centered | B．self-employed | C．self-funded | D．self-driven |
4 . After accidentally sliding down the face of a steep rock wall, two tourists found themselves trapped by the edge of a deep pool in a British park. They knew they were in a(n)
Fortunately for them, five Sikh hikers who happened to be on the scene and
After carefully
Once the two hikers were pulled to
Kinda and his four comrades, while more than pleased with their day’s work, were
| A．familiar | B．serious | C．imaginary | D．impressive |
| A．recalled | B．predicted | C．witnessed | D．recorded |
| A．generally | B．completely | C．briefly | D．specifically |
| A．rescue | B．project | C．match | D．celebration |
| A．describing | B．following | C．concluding | D．examining |
| A．ruled out | B．got around | C．came to | D．looked into |
| A．force | B．invite | C．scare | D．fish |
| A．safety | B．hospital | C．balance | D．normal |
| A．prove | B．assess | C．review | D．improve |
| A．comforted | B．greeted | C．informed | D．released |
| A．mind | B．report | C．mark | D．remain |
| A．curious | B．anxious | C．humble | D．ambitious |
| A．matter | B．reminder | C．ability | D．policy |
| A．mood | B．means | C．energy | D．prospect |
| A．require | B．possess | C．deserve | D．design |
5 . It all began innocently—I rushed to the local market for a few items, deciding not to use a cart (推车). As I approached the checkout area with my hands full, it was clear that the
Like most, I surveyed the checkout lines,
In a(an)
Then came a(an)
Leaving the store, I felt
| A．community | B．delivery | C．customer | D．emergency |
| A．erupted | B．extended | C．prevented | D．disturbed |
| A．pessimistically | B．confidently | C．joyfully | D．curiously |
| A．news | B．information | C．awareness | D．dissatisfaction |
| A．spread | B．changed | C．exploded | D．ended |
| A．Controlled | B．Managed | C．Surrounded | D．Directed |
| A．accomplish | B．quicken | C．conclude | D．perform |
| A．suffered | B．experienced | C．expressed | D．sensed |
| A．effortless | B．depressed | C．formal | D．easygoing |
| A．friendly | B．confused | C．happy | D．expressionless |
| A．moral | B．experimental | C．unexpected | D．painful |
| A．escape | B．enrich | C．excite | D．embrace |
| A．wisdom | B．knowledge | C．judgment | D．appreciation |
| A．gentle | B．continuous | C．forbidden | D．serious |
| A．love | B．talent | C．gift | D．experience |
6 . Virtual reality is quickly becoming the new technological frontier. Tech companies everywhere seem to be racing to get their foot in the VR door. However, virtual reality has a set of challenges and hurdles that it must overcome in order to work well. It should be noted that VR is heavily dependent on being very fast, very accurate and very good-looking. If it isn’t, the viewer will feel motion sick or disconnected from the world that VR is trying to create.
Now that we can actually build VR headsets that begin to meet these requirements, we are seeing a rising interest in VR. As it rises, so does the interest in creating new media to be experienced in using virtual reality. Journalism is a medium built on relevance. Journalists should always be finding new ways to tell stories and deliver content. It is a goldmine for storytelling. What better ways to tell a story to someone than to put them right in the center of it?
Virtual reality is a powerful tool for journalists. The consumer isn’t just reading or watching something play out; they’re experiencing it. The immersive nature of VR allows for people to connect with the subject matter on a much deeper level than just reading about it. The experience is emotional, speaking more to our instinct than our intellect. The possibilities for storytelling here are legion, and any storyteller wanting to do something more interesting than their peers should surely be considering the sheer power of VR.
The question of virtual reality, though, is not how powerful it is. That is immediately apparent. The question of VR is one of viability and availability. Telling stories must be easy to do, and access to those stories must be readily available. This is the biggest challenge that VR faces. If the tools to tell a story with VR aren’t easy to pick up and learn, VR will fail. If VR technology isn’t both top-of-the-line and affordable, VR will fail.
Accessibility was one concern for Thomas Hallaq, assistant professor of journalism and mass communications, who said that current VR technology, is pretty exclusive right now. Despite that, he said he doesn’t think the exclusivity of this technology will be a problem in the long run.
“I think it’s very promising,” Hallaq said. “We’re seeing more technology become accessible, and more people having access to that technology. Just look at smartphones.” Like radio, TV and the Internet before it, virtual reality will change the way we tell stories.
1. Why is VR considered a powerful tool for journalism?| A．Because it is an exclusively new tool. |
| B．Because it is very powerful and popular. |
| C．Because people can experience the story in person. |
| D．Because it is very fast, accurate and good-looking. |
| A．How powerful and interesting it can be. |
| B．Whether people will have easy access to it. |
| C．Whether qualified VR headsets can be built. |
| D．What new ways people will find to deliver content. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Neutral. | C．Pessimistic. | D．Concerned. |
| A．The Wide Popularity of Virtual Reality |
| B．The Future Development of Virtual Reality |
| C．Challenges and Hurdles of Virtual Reality |
| D．Virtual Reality is the Future of Storytelling |
7 . Have you ever thought about what determines the way we are when we grow up? Remember the TV program Seven Up? It started following the lives of a group of children in 1963. We first meet them as wide eyed seven year olds and then catch up with them at seven year intervals (间隔): nervous 14 year olds, serious 21 year olds and then grown ups.
Some of the stories are inspiring, others sad, but what is interesting in almost all the cases is the way in which the children’s early hopes and dreams are shown in their future lives. For example, at seven, Tony is a lively child who says he wants to become a sportsman or a taxi driver. When he grows up, he goes on to do both. How about Nicki? She says, “I’d like to find out about the moon.” And she goes on to become a space scientist. As a child, soft spoken Bruce says he wants to help “poor children” and ends up teaching in India.
But if the lives of all the children had followed this pattern, the program would be far less interesting than it actually was. It was the children whose childhood did not prepare them for what was to come that made the program so interesting. Where did their ideas come from about what they wanted to do when they grew up?Are the children influenced by what their parents do, by what they see on television, or by what their teachers say?How great is the effect of a single important event? Many film directors, including Stephen Spielberg, say that an early visit to the cinema was the turning point in their lives. Dr Margaret McAllister, who has done a lot of research in this area, thinks that the major factors are parents, friends, and the wider society.
1. What does the text mainly discuss?| A．New ways to make a TV program interesting. |
| B．The importance of television programs to children. |
| C．Different ways to make childhood dreams come true. |
| D．The influence of childhood experiences on future lives. |
| A．different groups of people at different periods of their lives |
| B．different groups of people at the same period of their lives |
| C．the same group of people at different periods of their lives |
| D．the same group of people at the same period of their lives |
| A．Many people’s childhood hopes are related to their future jobs. |
| B．There are many poor children in India who need help. |
| C．Children have different dreams about their future. |
| D．A lot of people are very sad in their childhood. |
| A．going to a movie at an early age helps a child learn about society |
| B．a single childhood event may decide what one does as a grown up |
| C．parents and friends can help a child grow up properly |
| D．films have more influence on a child than teachers do |
8 . My phone was an extension of myself. I couldn’t go anywhere
When I was watching TV shows or movies and there was a boring part, I
I have welcomed silence into my life with open arms and am enjoying the increased
As much as having a smartphone was
| A．through | B．without | C．despite | D．upon |
| A．updates | B．instructions | C．assessments | D．decisions |
| A．symbol | B．responsibility | C．reality | D．addiction |
| A．conscious | B．shameful | C．foolish | D．random |
| A．sell | B．pull | C．throw | D．mind |
| A．avoided | B．denied | C．missed | D．allowed |
| A．assist | B．improve | C．associate | D．occupy |
| A．requests | B．thoughts | C．directions | D．comments |
| A．instead of | B．regardless of | C．but for | D．apart from |
| A．creativity | B．productivity | C．knowledge | D．independence |
| A．routine | B．necessity | C．loneliness | D．temptation |
| A．genuine | B．grateful | C．direct | D．desperate |
| A．naturally | B．certainly | C．seemingly | D．gradually |
| A．wonder | B．imagination | C．interest | D．authenticity |
| A．depressive | B．comfortable | C．stressful | D．boring |
9 . The recent floods in Pakistan have sub-merged a third of the country and left more than 1,100 people dead. It is not the only part of the world to have suffered extreme weather this year. Early on, Australia was hit with unheard-of rain and heat. By the summer, east Africa was suffering its fourth year of drought. Meanwhile, temperature records were broken in cities across Europe, and rivers there ran drier than at any point for 500 years. A 70-day heatwave across much of China saw temperatures regularly exceeding 40℃, with the country’s two largest lakes dropping to their lowest recorded heights.
Attributing (把……归因于) any single weather event to climate change is a complicated business. Part of the difficulty reflects the complex mechanisms of Earth’s climate, where continuous warming is the background against which many other patterns play out.
One of the most powerful sources of natural climate variability is the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a phenomenon in which the climate all around the tropics moves into one of two extreme states. When the trade winds blow more weakly across the Pacific than usual, the warm water remains in the eastern Pacific, causing more rainfall in that part of the world, an event known as an El Nino. When the winds blow particularly strongly, more warm water gathers in the western Pacific, and more cold water comes up from the depths off the coast of South America, known as La Nina.
What is happening in Pakistan is likely to be a disastrous combination of multiple factors. A hotter planet means there is more moisture (湿气) in the air, leading to more extreme rainfall and greater risks of flooding. This means La Nina-caused rainfall can be unusually deadly. Global warming also has an indirect effect, as high temperatures experienced in the Himalayas earlier this year sped up the melting of glaciers (冰川) and overloaded rivers. It is also possible that air pollution in the area, which complicates air-circulation patterns, may have a role to play as well.
A pressing concern is the impact the increased flooding and severe droughts will have on a world where resources are already sapped by a rapid running of disasters. “We’re already not coping and it’s only getting worse,” says Maarten, director of the climate centre for the International Red Cross.
Equally fraught are questions of responsibility. Whether or not specific disasters were made more likely to occur by ENSO, climate change is doubtless playing a role in increasing their severity. This implicates richer countries most responsible for historic pollution, which have thus far largely been spared the worst consequences of their emissions.
1. The author lists a range of extreme events at the beginning to _________.| A．predict the ending | B．raise the issue behind |
| C．highlight an opinion | D．illustrate an argument |
| A．Loss of ice due to the greenhouse effect. |
| B．Harmful gases let off into the atmosphere. |
| C．Trade winds blowing more weakly across the Pacific. |
| D．More moisture in the air caused by high temperatures. |
| A．conserved | B．consumed | C．shared | D．destroyed |
| A．Urgent priority should be given to climatic change. |
| B．Specific disasters are undoubtedly linked to La Nina. |
| C．Governments have taken measures to deal with the current situation. |
| D．Richer countries have taken the responsibility for the environment. |
10 . There are close to 7, 000 languages spoken on Earth. However, it’s estimated that by the end of this century, up to 50% of them may be lost.
It’s commonly thought that majority languages tend to be valued for being useful and for promoting progress, while minority languages are seen as barriers to progress, and the value placed on them is seen mainly as sentimental (感情用事的). But is sentimentality really the only motivation for preserving language diversity?
Speakers of endangered languages often live in remote areas with unique landform. It is quite common for these languages to distinguish between hundreds more types of plants and animals than those known to modern science. For example, in Southeast Asia, some tribes have discovered the medicinal properties of over sixty-five hundred plant species. This has led to many of landmark achievements in medicine.
It was once believed that the limits of one’s language defined the limits of one’s thought. This theory, called the Sapir-Wharf hypothesis (假说), has been largely rejected in favor of the improved version, which assumes that the language we speak does not set the limits of our thoughts, but it does direct our focus in certain ways. For example, English is a tense-based language. It’s nearly impossible to talk about doing something without specifying the time — i. e. I went to the party(past), I’m going to the party(present), or I’ll go to the party (future). This differs from Chinese, where it’s perfectly reasonable to say, “I go to the party” without defining the “when”. Thus, part of the richness of language is that it allows us to organize the world in so many unique ways.
Some languages categorize the world in ways so different from our own that they are difficult to conceptualize (概念化). The United States employed native Navajo speakers to create a system of message coding during the Second World War. The Japanese were never able to break it, and the “code talkers” are often cited today as having helped decide the outcome of the war.
As we’ve already seen, minority languages are valuable for many practical reasons. In conclusion, I’d say the short answer is yes — dying languages are certainly worth saving!
1. What do people tend to think of minority languages?| A．Valueless. | B．Time-honored. | C．Informal. | D．Stable. |
| A．We can discover drugs in a much safer way. |
| B．We don’t have to rely on modern medicine. |
| C．We can acquire a broad knowledge of nature. |
| D．We can learn how to protect plants and animals. |
| A．To correct the Sapir-Wharf hypothesis. |
| B．To prove the value of minority languages. |
| C．To show wars’ role in preserving a language. |
| D．To explain ways to conserve some languages. |
| A．Are majority languages worth valuing? |
| B．Are we willing to save dying languages? |
| C．Should endangered languages be saved? |
| D．Is the future of minority languages bright? |
