1 . In our information-driven society, shaping our worldview through the media is similar to forming an opinion about someone solely based on a picture of their foot. While the media might not deliberately deceive us, it often fails to provide a comprehensive view of reality.
Consequently, the question arises: Where, then, shall we get our information from if not from the media? Who can we trust? How about experts—people who devote their working lives to understanding their chosen slice of the world? However, even experts can fall prey to the allure of oversimplification, leading to the “single perspective instinct” that hampers(阻碍)our ability to grasp the intricacies of the world.
Simple ideas can be appealing because they offer a sense of understanding and certainty. And it is easy to take off down a slippery slope, from one attention-grabbing simple idea to a feeling that this idea beautifully explains, or is the beautiful solution for, lots of other things. The world becomes simple that way.
Yet, when we embrace a singular cause or solution for all problems, we risk oversimplifying complex issues. For instance, championing the concept of equality may lead us to view all problems through the lens of inequality and see resource distribution as the sole panacea. However, such rigidity prevents us from seeing the multidimensional nature of challenges and hinders true comprehension of reality. This “single perspective instinct” ultimately clouds our judgment and restricts our capacity to tackle complex issues effectively.
It saves a lot of time to think like this. You can have opinions and answers without having to learn about a problem from scratch and you can get on with using your brain for other tasks. But it’s not so useful if you like to understand the world. Being always in favor of or always against any particular idea makes you blind to information that doesn’t fit your perspective. This is usually a bad approach if you would like to understand reality.
Instead, constantly test your favorite ideas for weaknesses. Be humble about the extent of your expertise. Be curious about new information that doesn’t fit, and information from other fields. And rather than talking only to people who agree with you, or collecting examples that fit your ideas, consult people who contradict you, disagree with you, and put forward different ideas as a great resource for understanding the world. I have been wrong about the world so many times. Sometimes, coming up against reality is what helps me see my mistakes, but often it is talking to, and trying to understand, someone with different ideas.
If this means you don’t have time to form so many opinions, so what? Wouldn’t you rather have few opinions that are right than many that are wrong?
1. What does the underlined word “allure” in Para.2 probably mean?| A．Temptation. | B．Tradition. | C．Convenience. | D．Consequence. |
| A．They meet people’s demand for high efficiency. |
| B．They generate a sense of complete understanding. |
| C．They are raised and supported by multiple experts. |
| D．They reflect the opinions of like-minded individuals. |
| A．Simplifying matters releases energy for human brains. |
| B．Constant tests on our ideas help make up for our weakness. |
| C．A well-founded opinion counts more than many shallow ones. |
| D．People who disagree with us often have comprehensive views. |
| A．Embracing Disagreement: Refusing Overcomplexity |
| B．Simplifying Information: Enhancing Comprehension |
| C．Understanding Differences: Establishing Relationships |
| D．Navigating Complexity: Challenging Oversimplification |
2 . This year, people around the world are lining up to buy electric vehicles even as prices increase. Electric vehicle, EV, demand has stayed strong even as the average cost of lithiumion (锂离子) battery cells increased to an estimated $160 per kilowatt-hour in the first quarter from $105 last year. Costs rose due to supply issues, restrictions on Russian metals and investor speculation (投机).
For a smaller vehicle like the Hongguang Mini, the best-selling EV in China, the higher battery costs added almost $1,500, equal to 30 percent of the listed price. But gasoline and diesel fuel costs have also increased since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and experts noted that environmental concerns are also pushing more buyers to choose EVs.
Manufacturers from Tesla to SAIC-GM-Wuling, which makes the Hongguang Mini, have passed higher costs on to consumers with price increases for EVs. More may be coming. Andy Palmer, chairman of Slovak EV battery maker InoBat, said, “rising costs will have to be passed onto carmakers.” But EV shoppers have so far not slowed down. Worldwide EV sales in the first quarter jumped nearly 120 percent, said the website EV-volumes.com.
Venkat Srinivasan is director of the Center for Collaborative Energy Storage Science at the U.S. government’s Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago. He said, “more and more people would buy EVs despite the cost of the battery and the vehicle.”
This increase in battery costs could be an unusual short-term change in a situation in which improving technology and growing production have pushed costs down for almost 30 years. Industry data showed that the $105 per kilowatt hour average cost in 2021 was down nearly 99 percent from over $7,500 in 1991.
Experts say battery costs could stay high for the next year or so, but then another large drop is likely as big investments by automakers and suppliers change the balance from shortage to surplus. “It’s like a bubble (泡沫) and for that bubble to settle down, it’s going to be at least the end of 2023,” said Prabhakar Patil, a former LG Chem executive.
The industry has long been awaiting the battery cell cost of $100 per kilowatt-hour, as a signal EVs were reaching a similar cost to fossil-fuel vehicles. But with gasoline prices high and consumer preferences changing, such cost considerations may no longer matter as much, experts say.
1. Why does the author mention Hongguang Mini?| A．To present a fact. | B．To give an example. | C．To introduce a topic. | D．To make an assumption. |
| A．More EV shops. | B．Production growth. | C．Sufficient supplies. | D．Technology improvement. |
| A．Promising. | B．Unclear. | C．Doubtful. | D．Confusing. |
| A．At present demands for EVs beat supply. | B．People concern price more when buying cars. |
| C．EVs sell much better than fossil-fuel vehicles. | D．People prefer EV mainly because of conflict. |
3 . Physical education, or PE, isn’t required for all high school students. In some schools, it isn’t offered for some different reasons. But should high school students have physical education? The answer is certainly “yes”.
Today many people don’t do sports. But as is known to all. doing sports is very important for an adult. Teaching teens the importance of a healthy lifestyle and making fitness plans now can help teens put exercise in the first place as an adult.
High school isn’t that easy. Many students are under a lot of stress. Stress can be harmful to a student’s studies and life. Doing sports can help them deal with stress better, helping them live a happier life at school.
The American Heart Association says that 10 million kids and teens suffer from obesity (肥胖). Teens should get 60 minutes of physical activity per day to control their weight and to help their bones get stronger. The increase in activities that don’t get teens to move around, such as computer games, means many teens don’t get their required exercise. PE classes act as a public health measure (措施) to encourage physical activities and help teens have healthy weights.
Not doing sports increases teens’ hazard of developing many diseases. An active lifestyle offers a good way of protection from these health problems. As much as 75 percent of health-care spending goes toward treating medical conditions that can be prevented by lifestyle changes, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.
According to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN), students who performed five hours of physical activities each week improved their academic (学业的) performance. Students from programs with no physical activity, who used the extra time for classroom study, did not perform better on tests than those who gave up some study time in support of physical education.
1. According to Paragraph 2, what does physical education in high school mean?| A．Making teens attach importance to ęxercise later. |
| B．Removing the stress faced by teens at school. |
| C．Getting teens to encourage adults to exercise. |
| D．Helping teens learn to make good plans |
| A．Happiness. | B．Risk. | C．Safety. | D．Sadness. |
| A．means making students choose between sports and studies |
| B．helps students make good use of all their time |
| C．means students adjust to their studies better |
| D．helps students do better in their studies |
| A．Why high school students should receive physical education. |
| B．Why some schools consider physical education important. |
| C．How schools can help students love doing sports. |
| D．How high school students can live a better life. |
4 . The Munfords were moving into a house they bought. They wanted to see if all the furniture was in good condition before they used it. James Munford was
James and his wife, Clarrisa, who are both retired thought the coins are
“We really didn’t know anything about the
The home’s
The Munfords are still unpacking and their furniture just arrived last week, so they haven’t had a
| A．trying | B．repairing | C．removing | D．checking |
| A．trouble | B．money | C．effort | D．time |
| A．specially | B．actually | C．probably | D．exactly |
| A．got | B．put | C．gave | D．held |
| A．closets | B．drawers | C．cases | D．coins |
| A．return | B．collect | C．sell | D．examine |
| A．number | B．origin | C．value | D．use |
| A．believe | B．care | C．understand | D．agree |
| A．generous | B．real | C．kind | D．former |
| A．named | B．paid | C．rewarded | D．praised |
| A．attempt | B．hope | C．hurry | D．demand |
| A．missing | B．old | C．dangerous | D．secure |
| A．struggled | B．decided | C．helped | D．promised |
| A．place | B．means | C．chance | D．desire |
| A．choices | B．problems | C．suggestions | D．surprises |
5 . I'd done it before, and so I had no reason to believe that this time would be any different. I was sure that when I returned home from my mission trip, as always, I'd bring back nothing more than some mud on my boots, a hole or two in my jeans and, of course, a lot of great memories.
The summer before my high school graduation, I went to West Virginia with others as volunteers to repair the homes of those in need. Arriving at our destination, my group was assigned the task of rebuilding sections of a home that had been damaged by fire. No sooner had we parked on the home's dirt driveway than we saw an excited little girl, no more than six years old, standing in the doorway of the family's temporary home. Shoeless and wearing dirty clothes and the biggest smile I'd ever seen, she yelled, "Ma, Ma, they really came! " I didn't know it then, but her name was Dakota, and four more days would pass before she’d say another word near me.
Behind Dakota was a woman in a wheelchair—her grandmother, we'd soon learn. I also discovered that my job that week would be to help change a fire—damaged dining room into a bedroom for this little girl. Grabbing our tools, we went to work. Over the following days, I noticed Dakota peeking at us every now and then as we worked. A few times. I tried talking with her, but she remained shy and distant, always flying around us like a tiny butterfly but keeping to herself.
By our fifth and final day, however, this was about to change.
Before I went to work on her home on that last morning, I spoke for a moment or two with the grandmother. I was especially pleased when she told me how much Dakota loved her new room so much, in fact, that she'd begged to sleep in it the previous night, even though it wasn't quite ready. As we talked, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before—Dakota was hiding behind her grandmother. Cautiously, she stepped into view, and I could see that just like her clothes, her face was still dirty. But no amount of soil could hide those bright blue eyes and big smile. She was simply adorable. I wanted so much to hug her, but respecting her shyness, I kept my distance.
Slowly, she began walking toward me. It wasn't until she was just inches away that I noticed the folded piece of paper in her tiny hand. Silently, she reached up and handed it to me. Once unfolded, I looked at the drawing she'd made with her broken crayons on the back of an old coloring book cover. It was of two girls—one much taller than the other—and they were holding hands. She told me it was supposed to be me and her and on the bottom of the paper were three little words that instantly broke my heart. Now almost in tears, I couldn't control myself anymore—I bent down and hugged her. She hugged me, too. And for the longest time, neither one of us could let go.
By early afternoon, we finished Dakota's bedroom, and so I gladly used the rare free time to get to know my newest friend. Sitting under a tree away from the others, we shared a few apples while she told me about her life. As I listened to her stories about the struggles she and her family went through daily, I began to realize how boring various aspects of my own life were.
I left for home early the next morning. I was returning with muddy boots and holes in my jeans. But because of Dakota, I brought back something else, too—a greater appreciation for all of the blessing of my life. I’ll never forget that barefoot little butterfly with the big smile and dirty face. I pray that she’ll never forget me either.
1. From the appearance description of the little girl, we know _______.| A．she formed a bad living habit |
| B．she hoped for a better education |
| C．she was an innocent and lovely child |
| D．she was strong and calm in the inner world |
| A．Enjoy your help. |
| B．Please don’t leave. |
| C．Help me, please. |
| D．Hug me close. |
| A．She worried about the little girl’s future. |
| B．She decided to keep helping the little girl. |
| C．She felt a greater affection for the little girl. |
| D．She got surprised at the little girl’s worthless gift. |
| A．One must learn to share life experiences. |
| B．One often wants to lead a meaningful life. |
| C．One occasionally benefits from the poverty. |
| D．One should be more grateful for the gift of life. |
