1 . Jason, a straight-A student from the University of Pennsylvania, uses the term “pseudo-working” to describe how many of us study. The pseudo-worker looks and feels like someone who is working hard — he or she spends a long time in the library and is not afraid to push on late into the night — but, because of a lack of focus and concentration, he or she’s doesn’t actually accomplish much.
This phenomenon can be seen on most college campuses. For example, at Dartmouth there was a section of the main library that was open twenty-four hours a day, and the students I used to see there late at night crowded in groups, drinking coffee, were definitely pseudo-working. The roommate who flips through her chemistry notes on the couch while watching TV is pseudo-working.
By placing themselves in distracting environments and insisting on working long hours, these students are damaging their brain’s ability to think clearly and efficiently accomplish the task at hand. In the end they get half the results with twice the effort.
The bigger problem here is that most students don’t even realize that they’re pseudo-working. To them pseudo-working is work—it’s how they’ve always done it, and it’s how all of their friends do it. It never crosses their mind that there might be a better way. Straight-A students, on the other hand, know all about pseudo-working. They fear it. It not only wastes time, but it’s also mentally tiring.
In fact, the most important skill in becoming a straight-A student is the ability to get work done quickly and with a minimum of wasted effort. Some cognitive science research concludes that about fifty minutes is the optimal learning period to maximize the material integrated per time unit. So how do these students achieve this goal? To understand their secret to success, consider the following simple formula(公式): work accomplished = time spent × intensity of focus.
Pseudo-working features a very low intensity of focus. Therefore, to accomplish something by pseudo-working, you need to spend a lot of time. The straight-A approach on the other hand, increases intensity in order to use less time.
1. Which of the following phenomenon is pseudo-working?| A．Tom is busy taking notes while attending a lecture. |
| B．Mike is sitting at a study lounge in preparation for a final exam quietly. |
| C．Jack spends a long time in the library on his essay while listening to music. |
| D．Alice and Sara are sitting on the couch reading their favorite books. |
| A．want to spend more time on study |
| B．are eager to follow their friends’ way |
| C．have got used to their study approach |
| D．are unaware of their pseudo-working |
| A．Possible. | B．Best. | C．Least. | D．Accurate. |
| A．The length of time on study counts. |
| B．Concentration plays a key role in study. |
| C．Getting work done quickly means everything. |
| D．Effective study approach is very important. |
2 . Global Hotel Study: When to Book & How to Save
While vacation rentals are a great option for any trip, 56% of Americans prefer to stay in a hotel. Meanwhile, Americans are also looking for a stay that’s budget-friendly. Knowing that your day-to-day costs can be the biggest part of your travel budget, we’ve rounded up several tips on how to get the best price on your hotel.
Unlike with flights, those who wait until the last minute to book can often score a great deal on a hotel room. We found that booking your hotel 1-3 days in advance of your stay can save you between $15-20 per night when you’re staying somewhere in the US. For international trips, booking as little as 6 days ahead for a shorter stay can help you save around $6/night. With these points in mind, here’s our best advice on when to book your hotel and how to save.
When to Book | Domestic | International |
Cheapest Day to Book | Friday/Saturday | Friday/Saturday |
Most Expensive Day to Book | Tuesday | Monday/Wednesday |
Cheapest Check-In Days | Sunday | Sunday or Tuesday |
Most Expensive Check-In Days | Friday | Saturday |
Our tips will help you create a good foundation for getting the best price possible when you search. And in order to be sure you’re getting the hotel you want, we’ve created powerful filters (筛选程序) that’ll narrow down all your options to the perfect one. These are the most popular filters used on KAYAK.
Whatever your plans are for your next stay, we’ll search hundreds of travel and hotel sites at once. So you can be confident you found the best price on the perfect hotel.
1. Which is the best way to save money while traveling in America?| A．Book on Friday and check in on Sunday. |
| B．Book on Monday and check in on Friday. |
| C．Book on Saturday and check in on Monday. |
| D．Book on Saturday and check in on Thursday. |
| A．Swimming pool. | B．Included breakfast. |
| C．Free Internet access. | D．View from hotel room. |
| A．A report. | B．A website. |
| C．A research paper. | D．A magazine. |
3 . My cellphone rang while I was working on my computer. I looked at the phone and saw it was my 17-year-old son, Tom. I quickly picked it up. “Mom, I got a 71 on the test. I did it.” With those few words, I could feel my heart start to pound.
Living in New York State, students cannot graduate from high school unless they pass at least five exams: one in English, one in science, two in history and one in math. For most students, who work hard, attend class, and do their homework, it isn’t that hard. But for Tom, who is dyslexic(朗读困难的), it is such a real challenge that some teachers have feared he would never be able to even attempt, never mind achieve.
We were honest with him about his trouble, letting him know that there was nothing to be ashamed of. Some people learn differently. If he was willing to work, we would help him find a way to do as much as he could in his academic career. All that was standing in his way was this math test. He had taken it three times and did better each time, but he continued to fail. He was starting to get a bit tired of me saying this was a marathon not a sprint(冲刺). My heart broke each time we would get the failing results.
“Mom, thanks. I love you. Thanks for believing I could do this.”
For one of the few times in my life, I really had nothing left to say. For that one brief moment I knew, really, really, knew that everything we did to help our son achieve what he wanted was worth it.
1. What does the underlined word “pound” in Paragraph l probably mean?| A．Sink suddenly. | B．Beat wildly. |
| C．Ache violently. | D．Break totally. |
| A．Students in New York State can graduate from high school if they pass four exams. |
| B．Students in New York State needn’t to learn math even if they want to graduate. |
| C．It is very hard for students in New York State to graduate from high school. |
| D．It is a challenge for Tom to graduate from high school. |
| A．English | B．science | C．math | D．history |
| A．She felt grateful and relaxed. | B．She felt surprised and bitter. |
| C．She felt proud and satisfied. | D．She felt worried and anxious. |
4 . I was sitting at the table having breakfast. A little taste of autumn
Now I know many people would be
| A．worry | B．comfort | C．joy | D．sadness |
| A．growing | B．turning | C．falling | D．rising |
| A．large | B．nice | C．white | D．empty |
| A．listening to | B．looking at | C．shouting at | D．jumping over |
| A．near | B．away | C．far | D．up |
| A．saved | B．wiped | C．killed | D．covered |
| A．enemy | B．toy | C．bed | D．food |
| A．dangerous | B．light | C．safe | D．healthy |
| A．smiling | B．standing | C．reading | D．eating |
| A．worried | B．shocked | C．confused | D．satisfied |
| A．just | B．even | C．still | D．ever |
| A．copied | B．remembered | C．found | D．invented |
| A．pity | B．sorry | C．happiness | D．love |
| A．far | B．expensive | C．small | D．harmful |
| A．cured | B．improved | C．received | D．cleaned |
5 . Cities are likely to be affected by overheating, thanks to something called the urban heat island effect. Cities tend to be short of trees, which provide shade, and they are covered with black pavement, which absorbs heat from the sun. Think of how it feels to wear a dark shirt versus a white shirt on a sunny day. A black shirt absorbs light, heating you up. But a white shirt reflects light, keeping you cool.
The average temperature in a city of a million or more people can be more than 5 degrees hotter than surrounding areas. That extra 5 degrees can turn a hot day from uncomfortable to deadly.
As temperatures rise, cities will be an especially dangerous place to be during a heat wave. To protect public health, city officials are going to make the city cooler.
As part of that effort, Los Angeles is coating its roads in CoolSeal, a gray paint that keeps streets and parking lots 10 degrees cooler than black asphalt(沥青). It will help Angelinos save money during the summer, when air conditioning sends power bills soaring. And it will save lives by lowering temperatures and improving air quality. Hot weather worsens air pollution by turning car exhaust into smog, which can make life miserable for people with asthma(哮喘)and other breathing problems.
Of course, LA will have to do more than paint over a few streets to cool off the city. Angelinos will also need to plant more trees and apply white paint to rooftops—at least those not already covered in solar panels. While LA is a pioneer of reflective streets, other cities, like New York, are already experimenting with reflective roofs or, like Melbourne, lowering the temperature by planting trees. LA is hardly alone in its effort to stay cool.
“This is an urgent challenge, and it’s much bigger than one person,” said Mayor Garctti in a recent statement. “Climate change is a fact of life that people in Los Angeles and cities around the world live with every day.”
1. What may contribute to the urban heat island effect?| A．Planting more trees in the streets. |
| B．Applying reflective paint to rooftops. |
| C．Covering the streets with white paint. |
| D．Covering the streets with black paint. |
| A．How to make the city cooler. | B．Where to wear a white shirt. |
| C．When to cut off the electricity supply. | D．Why to coat the roads with black paint. |
| A．Increasing the indoor activities. | B．Reducing the number of cold days. |
| C．Promoting the sale of air conditioners. | D．Making life easier and more comfortable. |
| A．L. A. calls on people to fight against global warming. |
| B．L. A. realizes the necessity to plant trees in the streets. |
| C．L. A. is painting its streets white to keep the city cool. |
| D．L. A. has difficulty in fighting against heat. |
6 . Researchers in Japan have created smart kitchenware that relies on electricity to make food saltier and tastier without adding any extra salt.
Salt makes food taste so much better, but it’s also a very dangerous ingredient that, consumed heavily, can cause serious health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease and other diseases. But what if we could make food taste salty without using any salt? That’s what scientists at Meiji University and developer Kirin Holdings have been working on for several years now. Back in April, they developed the first breakthrough creation: A pair of smart chopsticks, but now they have a couple of commercial products ready to hit the shelves.
The smart chopsticks did work well. They made sodium (钠) from the food to the mouth of the user to create a strong sense of saltiness, but they had a big problem as well. Because of their limited surface, the chopsticks needed to be connected to a power source on the user’s forearm. However, the newest inventions designed by the team behind the project suffer from no such limitations.
A smart spoon and bowl recently showcased by the brilliant minds behind the project features enough space for a built-in battery, so you no longer have to worry about connecting them up to a power supply every time you use them.
According to reports, the new smart spoon and bowl can make food taste 1.5 times saltier, which is welcome news to the many people who love salty food but need to watch their salt intake for health reasons. What’s better is that the new smart kitchenware is ready for commercialization and is expected to hit the Japanese market early next year. The new products will be called Erekisoruto and will have built-in batteries. The price is unknown at this time.
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 2?| A．The more salt, the better food. | B．Too much salt can be harmful to health. |
| C．Salt is beneficial to the sense of taste. | D．Salt is a very poisonous ingredient. |
| A．They are expensive. | B．They are too heavy. |
| C．They are inconvenient. | D．They are adjustable. |
| A．The businessmen who work in Japan. | B．The scientists who work on the smart field. |
| C．The researchers who like much saltier taste. | D．The patients who need to take in less salt. |
| A．Saltier Food with No Salt Added | B．Why Do People Like Salty Food |
| C．Magical Kitchenware Hit the Market | D．How Much Salt Do People Need Daily |
7 . The fourth-graders walk up to a mirror — one after another — at a school in southwest Atlanta. “I’m a good person!” a boy
Another boy follows, “I’m strong and
Acker teaches science at Gideons Elementary School, and she’s in
Acker has
Mental health issues
And more so this year, kids “need all of the kindness and compassion we can
Children develop their
| A．playing | B．wearing | C．catching | D．finding |
| A．severe | B．complex | C．independent | D．elegant |
| A．hurries | B．fixes | C．calls | D．cheers |
| A．possession | B．charge | C．search | D．defense |
| A．self-love | B．self-control | C．self-discipline | D．self-pity |
| A．dramatic | B．positive | C．logical | D．reliable |
| A．linked | B．overcame | C．practiced | D．recalled |
| A．afterward | B．forward | C．eventually | D．initially |
| A．express | B．analyze | C．hide | D．grasp |
| A．suspected | B．exposed | C．boosted | D．shifted |
| A．arise | B．decrease | C．occupy | D．swing |
| A．imagination | B．ambition | C．curiosity | D．anxiety |
| A．opportunity | B．wonder | C．choice | D．crisis |
| A．handle | B．offer | C．approve | D．expand |
| A．languages | B．arguments | C．doubts | D．beliefs |
8 . Tired of standing in line? Wait a bit longer, and you may never have to again.
Amazon has opened 24 of its Amazon Go stores, which use cameras and artificial intelligence (AI) to see what you’ve taken off shelves and charge you as you walk out. Some companies are closely copying Amazon’s approach to using AI-powered cameras fixed in ceilings. But others are trying an entirely different way to skip the checkout: smart shopping carts. These companies have added cameras and sensors (传感器) to the carts, and are using AI to tell what you’ve put in them. Customers pay by entering a credit card, or through an online payment system. When a customer exits the store a green light on the shopping cart shows that their order is complete, and they’re charged.
The companies behind the smart carts, including Caper and Veeve, say it’s much easier to add technology to the shopping cart than to an entire store. Amazon’s Go stores rely on hundreds of cameras in the ceiling. The shelves also include sensors to tell when an item is removed. Ahmed Beshry, co-founder of Caper, believes the technology to run Go is too expensive to use in a large-format grocery store. Neither Caper nor Veeve has said how much their smart shopping carts will cost, making it difficult to compare the different formats. Shariq Siddiqui, CEO of Veeve, said, “We’re always happy when Amazon is doing something. They force retailers (零售店) to get out of their old school thinking.”
Each time a business uses AI and cameras, it raises questions about customers’ privacy and the effect on jobs. Beshry notes that the cameras in his shopping cart point down into the cart, so only a customer’s hand and part of their arm will be captured (拍摄) on camera.
1. What do we know about the smart shopping carts?| A．They are able to recognize goods put in them. |
| B．They are linked to the cameras fixed in the ceilings. |
| C．They flash the green light when the order is canceled. |
| D．They can tell customers where to find what they want. |
| A．It is likely to help retailers to think differently. |
| B．It has attracted many more retailers than before. |
| C．It is far more expensive than their shopping carts. |
| D．It may reduce the cost of running a store greatly. |
| A．That they can only buy goods online. |
| B．That goods in the stores may be more expensive. |
| C．That they have to wait in a line for a longer time. |
| D．That somebody may know their privacy. |
| A．The new technology improves retail sale. |
| B．AI-powered cameras are used in retail stores. |
| C．Artificial intelligence affects the future of job market. |
| D．Smart shopping carts will let you skip the line. |
9 . When it comes to universities, most people associate (联想) great universities with big cities, like Peking University in Beijing. However, some universities located in less known places are also great ones. For more details, click here: www. fiskeguidetocolleges. com.
Bentley University
Bentley means business-studying it train the context of a strong liberal-arts (文科) program. Bentley provides career-oriented internships (职业方向的实习) to more than 90% of its students. Its beautiful campus is at arm's length from Boston with buses to Harvard Square.
University of Illinois
Half a step behind the University of Michigan and neck and neck with the University of Wisconsin among top Midwestern public universities, U of I's advantages include business, communications engineering, architecture, and natural sciences. Nearly 80% of the students come from in-state, but it has approximately 10,000 foreign students from more than 110 countries.
Indiana University
Though men's basketball is IU's most famous program, it may not be its best. That distinction (声誉) could easily go to the famous music school or the well-known foreign language program.
Mount Holyoke College
One of two women's colleges gives students access to the resources of the four other institutions. MHC is strongest in the natural and social sciences, and one of few colleges to have a program devoted to leadership.
1. If you are interested in natural and social sciences, which university is the best choice?| A．Bentley University. | B．University of Illinois. |
| C．Indiana University. | D．Mount Holyoke College. |
| A．Bentley University is far away from Boston. |
| B．Indiana University is best at men's basketball. |
| C．University of Illinois has attracted many foreign students. |
| D．The universities mentioned above are all located in major cities. |
| A．On a website. | B．In a newspaper. |
| C．In a magazine. | D．In a guide book. |
10 . Colette Maze has been playing the piano for over a century. She practices four hours a day and her fingers never tire. Music is her spiritual food. The piano, her passion and her friend, instills (注入) a sense of wonder in life each day, making her a source of inspiration to all.
Colette Maze was born in Paris in 1914. She started playing the piano at the age of five. As a young student, she was taught a technique by the legendary piano master Alfred Cortot, which focuses on relaxing the arms and hands when playing. To this day, the manner in which Colette Maze touches the piano while playing the tender music of Robert Schumann and Claude Debussy is still unusual and attractive.
Contrary to the social conventions of the times, Maze decided to pursue music as a career. “She decided she was an artist, a musician, not a housewife, so she married the piano,” said her son Fabrice Maze. Later she became a piano teacher and a single mother with great difficulty. The piano always brings her solace. “Music is an affective language and a poetic language. In music, there is everything—nature, emotion, love, dreams,” Colette Maze said.
Colette Maze’s talent and enthusiasm are priceless, especially during the times of the pandemic. “She helps improve morale (士气). Though at an old age, she is in good form for she has passion and can look after herself. Her sense of humor, her joy, and her love of life make other people smile,” Fabrice Maze said.
Colette Maze explained that life is not about being old or young. “Youth is inside us. Life is all about staying passionate and curious. You can’t let that slip away. If you appreciate what’s beautiful around you, you will find a sense of wonder in it,” she said. Every day she plays the piano, and her fingers lightly touch the keys, embracing life and engaging with the love and tenderness of her music.
1. How did Alfred Cortot influence Colette Maze?| A．He presented her with a special piano. | B．He invited famous pianists to train her. |
| C．He took her to enjoy some piano concerts. | D．He taught her a unique way to play the piano. |
| A．Pity. | B．Comfort. | C．Glory. | D．Trouble. |
| A．Colette has given up a lot for music. | B．Colette is highly spoken of by music lovers. |
| C．Colette inspires others to live with strength. | D．Colette feels concerned about other people’s life. |
| A．Be active and passionate about life forever. | B．Family support is important to career success. |
| C．Experience helps to promote excellence. | D．It’s never too old to learn. |
