1 . A star athlete at the college where I work recently stopped by my office. After committing a few unforced errors during a weekend match, she was tom apart by self-criticism. “I can’t stop beating myself up,” she told me. “I’m at peak fitness, and I practice hard. How is this happening?”
Many students I teach, like this athlete, believe that all-nighters in the library and hours on the field should get them exactly where they need to go. When they fall short of what they imagine they should accomplish, they are crushed by self-blame.
We talk often about young adults struggling with failure because their parents have protected them from discomfort. But there is something else at play among the most privileged in particular: a false promise that they can achieve anything if they are willing to work for it.
Psychologists have sourced this phenomenon to a misapplication of “mind set” research, which has found that praising children for effort will increase academic performance. But a recent analysis found that while praising effort over ability may benefit high-risk or economically disadvantaged students, it does not necessarily help everyone.
The cruel, messy reality is that you can do everything in your power and still fail. Instead of allowing our kids to beat themselves up when things don’t go their way, we should all question a culture that has taught them that feeling anything less than overwhelmed means they’re lazy, and that where they go to college matters more than the kind of person they are. It’s suggested that parents and teachers spend time helping students find purpose, or goals they genuinely love to pursue and that make an impact on the world, which may help them gain greater life satisfaction and become more psychologically mature.
The point is not to give our kids a pass on working hard. But we would be wise to remind our kids that life has a way of sucker-punching us when we least expect it. It’s often the people who learn to say “stuff happens” who get up the fastest.
1. Which sort of students does the star athlete belong to?| A．Those lacking courage to make self-criticism. |
| B．Those tired of working all night in the library. |
| C．Those believing hard work surely pay off. |
| D．Those overprotected by their parents in life. |
| A．Praising effort over ability will surely be beneficial to all kids. |
| B．The result of the “mindset” research doesn’t apply to all cases. |
| C．Parents should lay more emphasis on their kids’ academic performance. |
| D．Whether praising kids’ effort over ability does good to kids depends. |
| A．By choosing where to go to college for them. |
| B．By pushing them to fight against the cruel reality. |
| C．By discouraging them from making efforts to study hard. |
| D．By encouraging them to stick to a worthy cause they truly love. |
| A．Students should not expect too much from their study. |
| B．Students with positive attitudes can move on more easily. |
| C．Students should bear all the failures on their own. |
| D．Students are sure to succeed if they try their best. |
2 . A letter written by Charles Darwin in 1875 has been returned to the Smithsonian Institution Archives(档案馆) by the FBI after being stolen twice.
“We realized in the mid-1970s that it was missing,” says Effie Kapsalis, head of the Archives. “It was noted as missing and likely taken by an intern (实习生), from what the FBI is telling us. Word got out that it was missing when someone asked to see the letter for research purposes,” and the intern put the letter back. “The intern likely took the letter again once nobody was watching it.”
Decades passed. Finally, the FBI received a clue that the stolen letter was located very close to Washington, D.C. Their art crime team got back the letter but were unable to accuse the suspect because the time of limitations had ended. The FBI worked closely with the Archives to determine that the letter was both genuine and exactly belonged to Smithsonian.
The letter was written by Darwin to thank an American geologist, Dr. Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden, for sending him copies of his research into the geology of the area that would become Yellowstone National Park.
The letter is in fairly good condition, in spite of being out of the care of trained museum staff for so long. “It was luckily in good shape,” says Kapsalis, “and we just have to do some minor things in order to be able to unfold it. It has some glue on it that has colored it slightly, but nothing that will prevent us from using it. One of our goals is to get items of high research value or interest to the public online.”
It would be difficult to steal things like the letter. “Archiving practices have changed greatly since the 1970s,” says Kapsalis, “and we keep our high value objects in a safe that I can’t even reach.”
1. What happened to Darwin’s letter in the 1970s?| A．It was got back by the FBI. | B．It was stolen more than once. |
| C．It was bought by the archives. | D．It was put in the archives for research purpose. |
| A．They proved its real identity. | B．They kept it in a safe. |
| C．They helped repair the letter. | D．They accused the suspect but failed. |
| A．Display it in the Archives. |
| B．Turn it into an item of interest. |
| C．Carry out a major repair. |
| D．Make it available on line. |
| A．People grow more interested in art objects |
| B．Strict safety measures are taken in Archives. |
| C．The value of museum objects has been increased. |
| D．The letter helped Ferdinand do research into geology. |
3 . A couple of weeks ago, my husband got a text asking him to help cut down a tree. “This is not the time of year to cut down trees,” I said to my husband, “They are full of birds’ nests. Wait until fall, until the baby birds have flown away.”
The tree didn’t seem like an urgent issue to me or my husband, but it was worrying our neighbor and she wanted it gone. So, with some unwillingness and a chainsaw (链锯), my husband and our sons headed to our neighbor’s house early Saturday morning. About an hour later, I got a phone call from my 14-year-old son. He spoke in a trembling voice, which made me worried. I grabbed my keys, expecting to be told to meet my husband and sons at the emergency room. But no, everyone was safe. My son said that birds’ nests had fallen out of the tree and some baby birds had been hurt. So, I grabbed an old towel and a laundry basket.
I put the birds in the basket and headed for the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. The people there are not astounded to see worried people with laundry baskets containing injured animals. They sighed at my story — they had heard many stories like this. They knew exactly how to help these birds. I was relieved that the birds would be fine, but I was still upset they had been needlessly traumatized (使受精神创伤).
A lesson from this experience is that we need to look at the whole picture. We must behave in ways that help meet needs without causing harm to others, Our efforts to move through our lives with more gentleness and care may make a big difference for someone, whether it’s a baby bird or a person.
1. Why did the author disagree with cutting down the tree at first?| A．The tree was growing well. |
| B．The tree caused her no trouble. |
| C．The tree was home to some baby birds. |
| D．The tree played a part in the ecosystem. |
| A．some little lives were hurt |
| B．he worried about his father’s safety |
| C．someone was sent to the hospital |
| D．he was unwilling to cut down the tree |
| A．Frightened. | B．Shocked. | C．Prepared. | D．Relaxed. |
| A．Treat Each Life Equally |
| B．Live in Harmony with Nature |
| C．Give Our Neighbors a Hand in Time |
| D．Help Others without Hurting Anyone |
4 . As a teenager in the 1990s, Melissa Blake was interested in fashion. Unluckily, fashion wasn’t much interested in her. Blake, who has a genetic bone and muscle
Blake, now 39, has spent her adult life trying to
Her fans went wild, calling Blake a goddess and a powerful woman. Among her
“Getting Melissa in this year’s biggest fashion event just makes people understand how important it is to
“It was a little
“Fashion isn’t going to solve all the world’s
| A．advantage | B．growth | C．violence | D．disorder |
| A．Pulling | B．Pushing | C．Putting | D．Paging |
| A．interrupted | B．hurt | C．relieved | D．lightened |
| A．self-respect | B．self-satisfaction | C．self-discipline | D．self-control |
| A．give up | B．break up | C．make up | D．build up |
| A．activist | B．author | C．specialist | D．scientist |
| A．dropping in | B．holding on | C．approving of | D．fighting back |
| A．taking | B．enjoying | C．posting | D．judging |
| A．frank | B．aggressive | C．reliable | D．ugly |
| A．represented | B．imagined | C．communicated | D．interviewed |
| A．friends | B．fans | C．readers | D．colleagues |
| A．talents | B．characters | C．difficulties | D．disabilities |
| A．forbid | B．expand | C．entertain | D．persuade |
| A．possibly | B．usually | C．really | D．casually |
| A．exciting | B．regretful | C．scary | D．novel |
| A．challenge | B．barrier | C．responsibility | D．opportunity |
| A．principle | B．cruelty | C．access | D．warmth |
| A．incredible | B．important | C．awkward | D．difficult |
| A．problems | B．arguments | C．recognition | D．phenomena |
| A．reserve | B．deserve | C．preserve | D．perceive |
5 . An air-conditioner has become a sign of middle-class status in developing nations. But as air-conditioners appear from windows and storefronts across the world, scientists are becoming increasingly alarmed about the impact of the gases on which they run.
The oldest CFC coolants used in air-conditioners, which are highly damaging to the ozone layer, have been largely rejected from use; and the newest ones, used widely in industrialized nations, have little or no effect on the ozone layer. But these newest gases have an another impact — they contribute to global warming thousands of times more than CO2 does, the standard greenhouse gas. Indeed, the leading scientists in the field have just calculated that if all the equipment entering the world market uses the newest gases currently employed in air-conditioners, up to 27 percent of all global warning will result from those gases by 2050.
So the treatment to cure one global environmental disaster is now seeding another. "There is precious little time to do something, to act," said Stephen O. Andersen, the co-chairman of an international organization's technical and economic advisory panel.
Promising technologies wait, blocked in the wings. In China and a few other countries, room air-conditioners using hydrocarbons — which cause little warming or ozone damage — are already coming off assembly lines in small numbers but have not yet been approved for sale, in part because the chemicals are flammable (易燃的).Yet in Europe, refrigerators that cool with hydrocarbons have been in use for years, and some companies in the United States, such as Pepsi and Ben and Jerry's, have recently changed in-store coolers from HFCs to hydrocarbons as part of sustainability plans. But the patent is being argued. And some governments have still not finished safety testing.
Mr. Wypior, whose agency is trying to promote climate-friendly air-conditioning industries in India and China, said: “The technologies are available. They're well known. They're proven— though not at scale. So why aren't we moving?”
1. What's Paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．Air-conditioners' influence on the ozone layer. |
| B．Scientist's efforts to control the greenhouse gases. |
| C．The seriousness of global warning faced by the whole world. |
| D．The harmful effect of the newest gases used in air-conditioners. |
| A．These newest gases are used in the wrong direction. |
| B．These newest gases should be banned from producing |
| C．These newest gases will lead to global warming. |
| D．These newest gases carry both benefits and harms.. |
| A．Hydrocarbons are mainly used in refrigerators. |
| B．People are still arguing about their security. |
| C．Hydrocarbons are not friendly to the environment. |
| D．Most countries haven't mastered the related technologies. |
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. |
| C．Unconcerned. | D．Indifferent. |
6 . The meaning of silence varies among cultural groups. Silences may be thoughtful, or they may be empty when a person has nothing to say. A silence in conversation may also show stubbornness, uneasiness, or worry. Silence may be viewed by some cultural groups as extremely uncomfortable; therefore attempts may be made to fill every gap（间隙）with conversation. Persons in other cultural groups value silence and view it as necessary for understanding a person's needs.
Many Native Americans value silence and feel it is a basic part of communicating among people, just as some traditional Chinese and Thai persons do. Therefore, when a person one of these cultures is speaking and suddenly stops, what may be implied（暗示）is that the person wants the listener to consider what has been said before continuing. In these cultures, silence is a call for reflection.
Other cultures may use silence in other ways, particularly when dealing with different conflicts among people or in relationships of people with different amounts of power. For example, Russian, French, and Spanish persons may use silence to show agreement between parties about the topic under discussion. However, Mexicans may use silence when instructions are given by a person in authority rather than be rude to that person by arguing with him or her. In still another use, persons in Asian cultures may view silence as a sign of respect, particularly to an elder or a person in authority.
Nurses and other care-givers need to be aware of the possible meanings of silence when they come across the personal anxiety their patients may be experiencing. Nurses should recognize their own personal and cultural construction of silence so that a patient's silence is not interrupted too early or allowed to go on unnecessarily. A nurse who understands the healing（治愈）value of silence can use this understanding to assist in the care of patients from their own and from other cultures.
1. What does the author say about silence in conversations?| A．It is content-based. | B．It develops friendship. |
| C．It implies anger. | D．It is culture-specific. |
| A．The French. | B．The Mexicans. |
| C．The Russians. | D．The Chinese. |
| A．Make use of its healing effects. |
| B．Let it continue as the patient pleases. |
| C．Break it while treating patients. |
| D．Evaluate（评估）its harm to patients. |
| A．Sound and Silence. |
| B．What It Means to Be Silent. |
| C．Silence to Native Americans. |
| D．Speech Is Silver, Silence Is Gold. |
7 . Education is very close in my heart. My father grew up in a very small village in China. In those days, not many villagers could read. So my father
After generations of hard work, China
Education is about women and girls. It is important for girls to go to school because they will become their children’s
As the UNESCO special envoy (特使) and the mother myself, my
I was once asked about my Chinese
| A．rebuilt | B．found | C．attended | D．opened |
| A．remember | B．pronounce | C．write | D．confirm |
| A．teach | B．inform | C．convince | D．enquire |
| A．education | B．contribution | C．devotion | D．civilization |
| A．has found | B．has come | C．has walked | D．has taken |
| A．contribute to | B．approve of | C．benefit from | D．pass down |
| A．routine | B．fashion | C．suggestions | D．footsteps |
| A．determined | B．confident | C．honored | D．fortunate |
| A．first | B．unforgettable | C．impressive | D．patient |
| A．care for | B．account for | C．stand for | D．allow for |
| A．accepting | B．tolerating | C．handling | D．evaluating |
| A．controversial | B．ambiguous | C．accurate | D．astonishing |
| A．resources | B．experiences | C．qualifications | D．materials |
| A．permission | B．strength | C．wealth | D．knowledge |
| A．independent | B．responsible | C．intelligent | D．capable |
| A．response | B．commitment | C．reaction | D．attention |
| A．Together | B．Meanwhile | C．Therefore | D．Moreover |
| A．expectation | B．vision | C．dream | D．ambition |
| A．promise | B．believe | C．assume | D．sense |
| A．desired | B．realized | C．faced | D．enjoyed |
8 . A woman was walking along the beach on a damp day, lost in thought. Suddenly she was
The woman stopped
Just then, a big floppy-eared(耳朵松软的) dog suddenly jumped toward the man from the mist with
At first the woman felt
Perhaps, she thought it was not a
How do you call blessings like hope and peace into your life?
1.| A．forced | B．moved | C．brought | D．transformed |
| A．rain | B．mist | C．darkness | D．sunshine |
| A．glance | B．risk | C．sigh | D．step |
| A．adapting to | B．calling up | C．dealing with | D．thinking about |
| A．angrily | B．bitterly | C．loudly | D．gently |
| A．desired | B．forgot | C．selected | D．ordered |
| A．doubt | B．love | C．regret | D．thanks |
| A．change | B．carry | C．clear | D．collect |
| A．familiar | B．popular | C．powerful | D．stressful |
| A．directly | B．secretly | C．occasionally | D．increasingly |
| A．joy | B．anxiety | C．courage | D．sorrow |
| A．cautious | B．close | C．cool | D．diver |
| A．found | B．left | C．hurt | D．lost |
| A．good | B．right | C．silly | D．wrong |
| A．confused | B．exchanged | C．saved | D．trained |
| A．if | B．as | C．before | D．though |
| A．answer | B．challenge | C．goodness | D．truth |
| A．complete | B．strange | C．false | D．real |
| A．burden | B．coincidence | C．joke | D．disadvantage |
| A．at all | B．after all | C．for ever | D．as ever |
9 . According to a recent study in the Journal of Consumer Research, both the size and consumption habits of our eating companions can influence our food intake. And contrary to existing research that says you should avoid eating with heavier people who order large portions(份), it's the beanpoles with big appetites you really need to avoid.
To test the effect of social influence on eating habits, the researchers conducted two experiments. In the first, 95 undergraduate women were individually invited into a lab to ostensibly(表面上)participate in a study about movie viewership. Before the film began, each woman was asked to help herself to a snack. An actor hired by the researchers grabbed her food first. In her natural state, the actor weighed 105 pounds. But in half the cases she wore a specially designed fat suit which increased her weight to 180 pounds.
Both the fat and thin versions of the actor took a large amount of food. The participants followed suit, taking more food than they normally would have. However, they took significantly more when the actor was thin.
For the second test, in one case the thin actor took two pieces of candy from the snack bowls. In the other case, she took 30 pieces. The results were similar to the first test: the participants followed suit but took significantly more candy when the thin actor took 30 pieces.
The tests show that the social environment is extremely influential when we're making decisions. If this fellow participant is going to eat more, so will I. Call it the “I’ll have what she's having” effect. However, we'll adjust the influence. If an overweight person is having a large portion, I'll hold back a bit because I see the results of his eating habits. But if a thin person eats a lot, I'll follow suit. If he can eat much and keep slim, why can't I?
1. What is the recent study mainly about?| A．Food safety. | B．Movie viewership. |
| C．Consumer demand. | D．Eating behavior. |
| A．Big eaters. | B．Overweight persons. |
| C．Picky eaters. | D．Tall thin persons. |
| A．To see how she would affect the participants. |
| B．To test if the participants could recognize her. |
| C．To find out what she would do in the two tests. |
| D．To study why she could keep her weight down. |
| A．How hungry we are. | B．How slim we want to be. |
| C．How we perceive others. | D．How we feel about the food. |
10 . People in Japan tend to live longer and stay healthier in their later years, with an increasing number of old people living alone. Japan is on a fast track to “ultra-age” with people aged 65 or above accounting for 28 percent of its total population in 2019；it was 26.7 percent in 2017. On the other hand, the number of births in 2019 fell to its lowest (about 941,000) since records began in 1899.
Demand for care services for elderly people has increased. A shrinking (缩小) working population means fewer able-bodied adults are available to look after the elderly. State-provided facilities for the elderly are not enough, which causes elderly people to turn to private ones but they are expensive.
The country will be short of 380,000 of health nurses by 2025. The government has to turn to advanced robots to meet the shortage. A study found that using robots encouraged one third of the people to become more active and independent. Yet there is no robot that can provide the emotional support to the elderly.
Japan provides a case study for China, which is also faced with a fast aging population. 17.23 million babies were born in China in 2019, about 630,000 fewer than in 2018. People aged 60 accounted for 17.3 of China’s population in 2019. With a shortage of elderly care facilities and unbalanced supply, China may find it hard to deal with the rapidly increasing number of senior citizens.
To meet the challenge, the Chinese government should make policy changes, which Japan is unwilling or unable to do or even consider. China should pay attention to the signals its aging population is sending and take proper and timely action.
1. What do we learn about the old Japanese?| A．More and more old Japanese prefer to live on their own. |
| B．A lot of old Japanese have to continue working at old age. |
| C．Some old Japanese remain active with the help of robots. |
| D．Japanese aged 65 or above make up one third of its population. |
| A．They are expensive. | B．They are inconvenient. |
| C．They are affordable. | D．They are fashionable. |
| A．They hire foreign health nurses. |
| B．They employ advanced robots. |
| C．They set up more nursing schools. |
| D．They train the elderly to tend themselves. |
| A．Japan has to take action to deal with the aging population. |
| B．Robots can’t provide emotional support to the elderly. |
| C．China is now faced with a fast aging population. |
| D．Japan’s aging population issue is a timely lesson for China. |
