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 . 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 |
3 . When we ignore small tasks deliberately, they balloon from tiny checklist items into big annoyances. It could be a quick email or some boring paperwork-something that will only take a few minutes and yet, somehow, for some reasons, you keep on putting it off.
This is procrastination (拖延症). People who procrastinate tend to delay tasks on purpose until the last minute, or past due date, although they’re fully aware of the negative results. Typically, procrastination is caused by the lack of the ability to organize and plan how to divide time between different activities, but emotions can also be a factor, says Fuschia Sirois, a professor at the University of Sheffield.
It’s easy to understand why we procrastinate on big tasks. They can be physically or mentally demanding and require lots of time and energy. However, small tasks can lead to a particularly annoying form of procrastination. This could be something as simple as making a phone call to a stranger. You are so unwilling and afraid that you might mess it up. This makes worry sit in your mind, reduces your ability to solve the problem and then leads to procrastination. “We don’t procrastinate on tiny tasks because they slip our mind; rather, we make a conscious choice to put off something that might arouse doubt, fear or feelings of incompetence, says Sirois.
Another reason is that small tasks often don’t have hard deadlines. So, it’s easier to have an avoidance reaction because, unlike the big tasks, there’s nothing to push us.
So, how to get small things done? Sirois suggests we should move our attention from emotions to actions. “Sometimes, things are coloured by our emotions,” he explains. Once you actually begin a task, you might find it less stressful than you thought when you were procrastinating. And since a tiny task won’t take long, rather than scheduling it, just get cracking. Don’t let tiny things become big monsters.
1. What can we know about people who procrastinate?| A．They manage to finish on time. |
| B．They underestimate the consequences. |
| C．They might put off work unintentionally. |
| D．They might have time management problems. |
| A．To make a comparison with big tasks. |
| B．To show small things can be physically demanding. |
| C．To provide an example of overcoming procrastination. |
| D．To prove procrastination can result from negative feelings. |
| A．Make a plan. | B．Set a deadline. |
| C．Take immediate action. | D．Adopt a positive attitude. |
| A．Why Do We Put off Small Things? |
| B．Why Do Small Things Make Us Worried? |
| C．How Does Procrastination Affect Your Life? |
| D．How Do Negative Feelings Become Procrastination? |
4 . On June 6th Columbia University announced that it will no longer co-operate with US News & World Report’s undergraduate rankings. It is the first top-notch institution to do so. Might its departure be the start of a mass departure?
Columbia’s decision follows a rankings scandal last year. In February 2022 one of Columbia’s own maths professors accused the college of fudging its data in several areas. The university later admitted to having used “outdated and/or incorrect methodologies”.
In the 1980s prospective students started to expand their college search beyond their local area, and it was hard to learn about universities and compare them. Hence, US News began ranking America’s top universities in 1983, and has released its findings annually since 1988.
Colleges have gone to great lengths to move up in the ratings. Richard Freeland, Northeastern University’s former president, capped class sizes and hired faculty to improve its spot; it moved from 127th in 2003 to 44th this year. Others went too far. A dean at Temple University’s business school was sentenced to prison and was ordered to pay a $250,000 fine after being found guilty of fraud in relation to artificially inflating his programme’s rankings.
The ranking system used to seem unstoppable. Universities have tried to ditch it before, only to find that doing so can backfire badly. US News still ranks non-participating universities, using publicly available information, and the data often do not go in their favour. Reed College, a liberal-arts college, stopped taking part in 1995. It tumbled from the top quartile to the bottom. Columbia did not submit data for this year’s analysis, citing concerns about Dr Thaddeus’s claims, and its ranking fell from second in 2021-22 (tied with Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to 18th in 2022-23 (tied with the University of Notre Dame).
Recently the mood has begun to change, however, especially among graduate schools. In 2022, of the 15 highest-ranked law schools, only the University of Chicago submitted data. Some undergraduate schools have already opted out this year (Rhode Island School of Design, Colorado College, Stillman College), but none are as prestigious as Columbia.
In May US News announced changes to its ranking methodology. It is moving away from metrics that rely on reputation and towards student outcomes. One way or another, the rankings—and universities more broadly—are in a state of constant change.
1. What is true about the US News undergraduate rankings?| A．It faked the information for the ratings. | B．It filled an information gap at one time. |
| C．It promoted the quality of higher education. | D．It has been released every year for 40 years. |
| A．it will be ordered to pay a fine | B．it will be excluded from the list |
| C．its ranking will suffer consequently | D．its spot in the ranking won’t be affected |
| A．limited | B．increased | C．inflated | D．maintained |
| A．scores given by former students | B．donations from all walks of life |
| C．evaluations from other colleges | D．earnings for college graduates |
5 . Liu Jichen, 23, a student from Tsinghua University, has developed a WeChat mini-program called “Clear Your Plate”. After a meal, users can open the mini-program and take a picture of their empty plates. Once the image is recognized by the AI(Artificial Intelligence), students can collect points and use them to buy gifts or purchase charity meals to children in impoverished(贫困的) rural areas.
Liu and his team, together with other organizations, launched the “Clear Your Plate” campaign in November for the third year. It has swept over 1,017 universities across the country. The one-month campaign attracted almost 1.6 million participants and collectively reduced food waste by 862 tons and carbon emissions(碳排放) by 3,337 tons.
“Technological innovation is a good way to reduce food waste,” Liu thought. He organized a team of 20 members to work on the project at the end of 2017. To solve the AI’s problem of identifying photos of empty plates, the team spent half a year collecting over 100,000 samples in canteens and restaurants. In 2018, the mini-program was officially put into operation on Oct 16, World Food Day. They then launched a campaign later that year.
“There were so many unknowns in research and development. For our team members, the biggest challenge was whether we were confident enough to complete it,” Liu said. They not only achieved their goal, but now, the mini-program has more than 5 million registered users, according to Liu. “We hope our efforts can start a new trend among the younger generation by encouraging them to cherish(珍惜) their food and develop the habit of thrift(节约),” Liu added.
1. What can we know about the “Clear Your Plate” mini-program?| A．It aims to put an end to waste and encourage thrift. |
| B．Its 6 million users are mostly students. |
| C．It helped reduce food waste by 3,337 tons. |
| D．It is an exchange of food for rewards to help poor children. |
| A．They found it tough to promote the campaign. |
| B．They felt uncertain whether they could complete the project. |
| C．They lacked professional technical support. |
| D．They had difficulty gathering enough samples. |
| A．Optimistic and demanding. | B．Generous and responsible. |
| C．Talented and humorous. | D．Creative and determined. |
| A．A guidebook. | B．A news report. | C．A book review. | D．A textbook. |
6 . In the early 1990s, Eric Domb, a highly successful lawyer, came up with the idea of building a bird park. His father-in-law
After the park opened in 1994, his inexperience led to many
Since his childhood he has been fascinated by Chinese
Domb felt
Now, Domb is eager to tell how he
| A．rejected | B．supported | C．doubted | D．raised |
| A．project | B．rule | C．law | D．document |
| A．steal | B．win | C．earn | D．borrow |
| A．rewards | B．wonders | C．mistakes | D．regrets |
| A．missing | B．spreading | C．shaking | D．growing |
| A．extreme | B．unusual | C．irregular | D．essential |
| A．culture | B．food | C．poetry | D．dream |
| A．containing | B．changing | C．adding | D．removing |
| A．embarrassed | B．surprised | C．confused | D．inspired |
| A．willingly | B．enthusiastically | C．automatically | D．confidently |
| A．take charge of | B．pay attention to | C．get hold of | D．gain knowledge of |
| A．grass | B．tea | C．coffee | D．bamboo |
| A．bought | B．protected | C．received | D．tracked |
| A．pride | B．humor | C．security | D．duty |
| A．hide | B．house | C．train | D．save |
7 . A space instrument, designed to map the existence of dust in the atmosphere and help scientists know whether the dust in different parts of the world is likely to trap the heat from the sun or make it change direction, has also shown another vital function: detecting worldwide emission of methane(甲烷排放), which is a powerful greenhouse gas.
The instrument is called the imaging spectrometer(成像光谱仪). It has identified more than 50 methane “super-emitters” in areas including the Middle East and the southwestern United States. The newly measured methane hot spots include large oil and gas centers and places where rubbish is buried.
The observations came as scientists tested the ability of the instrument. Over its task, measurements of surface minerals in dry regions of Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Australia will be collected. The data will be useful for scientists to know if the dust has a warming or cooling effect on the planet. “We have been eager to see how our mineral data will improve climate modeling,” said Kate Calvin, a scientist and senior climate advisor. “This additional methane-detecting ability offers an opportunity to measure and monitor greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.”
From the space station, the instrument can study large areas many kilometers wide while also centering on small areas the size of a football field. “Some of the plumes(烟雾) the instrument detected are the largest among what we have ever seen—unlike anything that has ever been observed from space,” said Andrew Thorpe, a research technologist.
New images of methane super-emitters include a group of 12 plumes from oil and gas structures in Turkmenistan. Some plumes are more than 32 kilometers wide. Scientists calculate the plume areas all together give off methane nearly at a rate of 50,400 kilograms per hour. This is close to the top emission rate of the gas leak in Aliso Canyon near Los Angeles. That event was the largest accidental methane leak in American history.
1. What was the initial purpose of the imaging spectrometer?| A．To identify methane super-emitters. | B．To measure the level of methane in the air. |
| C．To monitor the emission of greenhouse gases. | D．To help study the effects of dust in the atmosphere. |
| A．They’re useful for climate change study. | B．They will assist in building climate models. |
| C．They confirm the scientists’ prediction. | D．They set the direction for dust research. |
| A．By describing facts and conducting tests. | B．By giving examples and explaining reasons. |
| C．By listing figures and making comparisons. | D．By referring to other studies and analyzing data. |
| A．Instrument Mapping the Dust in the Atmosphere |
| B．Big Methane Emitters Spotted by a Dust Detector |
| C．Turkmenistan Being a Main Emitter of Methane |
| D．Major Sources of Methane Emissions Identified |
8 . Slowness has been a sweeping trend in sustainability. Slow food celebrates local produce and traditional cooking methods; slow fashion is made with a focus on people and the planet. You may have even heard of the slow city, a campaign to restore local cultures and turn cities back to their natural environments.
Slow design developed from the larger slow movement. Although the term was only recently introduced, the idea of thoughtful design looks back to a time when buildings and furniture were made with great craftsmanship (手艺) and by hand-before the mass-produced throwaway furniture took over. You can think of the term “slow” as a celebration of timelessness: both the timelessness of a piece and the timelessness of the relationship between that piece and its owner.
One example of slow design today is what’s been dubbed the brown furniture revival (复兴). Brown furniture refers to the heavy wooden furnishings that were popular in your grandparents’ day but suddenly fell out of style at the turn of the century. Brown furniture is often associated with dark woods, such as trees like mahogany, walnut, and teak, that take decades to reach maturity and true craftsmanship to transform into functional pieces.
Today’s furniture industry is dominated by the $13.1 billion-and-growing global ready-to-assemble(RTA) furniture market. RTA furniture is usually constructed from low-quality fiberboard, which lasts a small part of traditional furniture’s lifespan (寿命).The weight of furniture landfilled in 2018 was 9. 7 million tons, 4. 5 times what was landfilled in 1960.
In a less direct way, the idea of timelessness also lends itself to a lower environmental impact. Besides their demonstrated physical durability, slow materials and design are meant to outlive trends and never be thrown out simply because they’re out of style.
As second-hand shopping becomes more appealing to today’s young generation-because of its low environmental impact and affordability-the brown furniture of yesteryear is making a comeback.
1. Why is the first paragraph written?| A．To explain a new term. |
| B．To present the topic of the text. |
| C．To provide background information. |
| D．To highlight the importance of slowness. |
| A．Known as. |
| B．Mistaken for. |
| C．Compared to. |
| D．Connected with. |
| A．It is out of date. |
| B．It has a long lifespan. |
| C．It is heavy and expensive. |
| D．It has bad effects on the environment. |
| A．Grandparents are buying new furniture. |
| B．The brown furniture will soon be mass-produced. |
| C．The young generation favors second-hand shopping. |
| D．Materials for slow design furniture are more available. |
9 . The older I get, the more I understand how my teachers have transformed my life.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, I went to see Mr. C at Roxbury Park in Beverly Hills. His love of life has not dimmed despite the fact that his legs no longer work like they used to. He visited some of his former students while he was in town. At Beverly Hills High School, Mr. C taught ancient history, coached football and golf, and risked his life teaching driver’s training on Saturday mornings from 1964 to 1988. The gray and hobbled students lined up one after another to thank their favorite teacher. One called him a rock star. Another was grateful for helping him when he couldn’t say so. It was a beautiful tribute, especially in these times of catastrophic teacher shortages.
Spending that Sunday in the park with Mr. C was nothing short of magic. It was a reminder of all that is promising and possible in public education, including a teacher whose rare emotional honesty could be appreciated and honored decades later. It also brought to mind Maya Angelou’s saying “People will forget what you said and did, but never forget how you make them feel.” He made me and others in the park feel heard and seen.
Mr. C changed my perception of myself. Rather than seeing myself as a loser cheerleader who couldn’t compete with the smart kids, I realized how much I loved learning. His history class was so interesting. In his classes about the Persians, Greeks, and Romans, extra credits can be earned for creativity. During earthquake drills, we counted on Mr. C to scream his head off in mock terror.
It should come as little surprise that I’d value the role of teachers in my life. Both of my parents taught; so did my siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins. I, too, have become a teacher and I try to follow in Mr. C’s footsteps. Some days, I fantasize what it would be like to go on a teacher tour, reaching out to my mentors to express my deep gratitude for all they’ve given me. Seeing Mr. C sparked that fantasy again. When I finally worked up my courage to thank him, knowing a floodgate of tears would open, he said to me with his typical modesty: “You were doing me more good than I was doing you.”
1. What does the underlined word “tribute” mean in Paragraph 2?| A．enthusiasm | B．admiration | C．devotion | D．commitment |
| A．To make a suggestion. |
| B．To introduce a celebrity. |
| C．To show respect to an educator. |
| D．To interpret the influence of education. |
| A．Enjoyable. | B．Intolerant. | C．Incompetent. | D．Patient. |
| A．A reunion. | B．A rock star. | C．A surprise. | D．A great teacher. |
10 . Once on a dark winter’s day, when the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they do at night, a Little girl sat in a cab with her father and was driven rather slowly through the big thoroughfares.
She leaned against her father, who held her in his arm, as she stared out of the window at the passing people with a queer (strange, odd) old-fashioned thoughtfulness in her big eyes.
Principally, she was thinking of what a queer thing it was that at one time one was in India in the blazing sun, and then in the middle of the ocean, and then driving in a strange vehicle through strange streets where the day was as dark as the night. She found this so puzzling that she moved closer to her father.
“What is it. darling?” Captain Crewe asked, holding her closer and looking down into her face.
During her short life only one thing had troubled her, and that thing was “the place” she was to be taken to some day. The climate of India was very bad for children, and as soon as possible they were sent away from it-generally to England and to school. She bad seen other children go away, and had heard their fathers and mothers talk about the letters they received from them1. She had known that she would be obliged to go also, and though sometimes her father’s stories of the voyage and the new country had attracted her, she had been troubled by the thought that he could not stay with her.
She had liked to think of that. To keep the house for her father; to ride with him, and sit at the head of his table when he had dinner parties; to talk to him and read his books - that would be what she would like most in the world, and if one must go away to “the place“ in England to attain it, she must make up her mind to go. She did not care very much for other little girls, but if she had plenty of books she could console herself.
It was a big, dull, brick house, exactly like all the others in its row, but that on the front door there shone a brass plate on which was engraved in black letters:
MISS MINCHIN, Select Seminary for Young Ladies.
“I don’t like it, papa, ” she said. “But then I dare say soldiers - even brave ones-don’t really like going into battle. ” Sara stood quietly, with her eyes fixed upon Miss Minchin’s face. She was thinking something odd, as usual.
1. What can we learn from the story?| A．Sara was bothered by her departure from her father. |
| B．Sara was about to be sent to London for a completely new life. |
| C．Sara was thinking of a way to escape being sent to a foreign country. |
| D．Sara was persuaded to receive further education in a prestigious school. |
| A．entertain | B．occupy |
| C．comfort | D．improve |
| A．She didn’t mind living with other girls. |
| B．She hated the idea of living independently. |
| C．She was positive about the new life at school. |
| D．She was confident to adapt to the new environment. |
| A．The author compares Sara’s bravery to that of the soldiers. |
| B．The description of the surroundings is to add horror to the story. |
| C．The image of Sara is depicted through appearance and language. |
| D．Body language is employed to show the character’s state of mind. |
