1 . Armed with a toolkit of techniques and tricks to calm the mind and bring focus back to your body, you can stop stressful situations from sabotaging your day, says Katy Georgiou.
GROUND YOURSELF
Making contact with the ground is your baseline go-to response for stress. This technique can be especially helpful if you find your stress regularly turns into panic. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, place your feet flat on the ground so that you feel stable, and then close your eyes. If you’re able to sit on the floor cross-legged or to lie down flat, then even better.
Think of this as earthing: really connect with the ground beneath your body. Some studies suggest that this simple act can help reduce or relieve symptoms of stress such as pain and fatigue, reduce blood pressure, and improve sleep. If you’re feeling disconnected from the world, it can also remind you that you belong to it and are a crucial part of it — the ground will always be there for you.
LOVE THYSELF
Adopting regular, daily or weekly routines for self-care can be very containing, creating consistency amid all sorts of stressful life events happening around you. Looking in the mirror each day can actually remind you that you exist, so feel free to factor some reflective gazing into your daily routine, whether it’s while applying moisturiser, shaving, or brushing your hair. Studies have shown that being confronted with your reflection can have powerful effects, taking us out of our heads and into the immediate present. For added effect, pay attention to the way your products interact with your hair and skin as you apply them.
Playing around with smells, colours and textures in your hands will also engage your senses. Using a scented shampoo or smoothing on body lotion after a warm bath can be easy ways to do this.
CLEAR YOUR MIND
Abandon all your thoughts and try to focus only on your surroundings. What can you see, hear, smell, taste and touch? Identify three things you can hear, one thing you can taste, four things you can see and two things you can feel on your skin. Pick out colours in the room you are sitting in, notice textures and different kinds of light. If somebody is with you, tell them what you are experiencing. The point here is that your senses are your best and easiest route back to feeling calm, by coming out of your head and rooting yourself back in the present. This is incredibly helpful if you’re having a panic attack or flop response.
1. If your friend Jane always feels worn out and suffers from sleep deprivation, which of the following techniques will you especially recommend to her?A.Connect her body to the ground beneath her. |
B.Adopt a daily gaze at her reflection in the mirror. |
C.Exchange her scentless shampoo for an aromatic one. |
D.Focus on what she can see, hear, smell, taste and touch. |
A.Lying down flat can better relieve your stress. |
B.Grounding yourself can give you a sense of belonging to the world. |
C.Brushing your hair while looking in the mirror can remind you of your existence. |
D.Those having a panic attack should shut their senses down. |
A.help people understand themselves better |
B.introduce some practical methods for stress management |
C.emphasize the significance of exploiting multiple senses |
D.promote a mindset of living in the moment |
2 . Non-Credit Courses
The Pre-College Program offers non-credit courses. Students will experience college-level courses given by some of our college’s leading experts and will receive written feedback (反馈) on their work at the end of the course. Pre-College students will also receive a grade of Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory and a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the program.
All non-credit courses meet from 9:00 a. m.-11:30 a. m. daily and may have additional requirements in the afternoons or evenings.
COURSE: Case Studies in Neuroscience
·June 11— July 2
·Leah Roesch
Using student-centered, active-learning methods and real-world examples, this course is designed to provide a fuller understanding of how the human brain works.
COURSE: Psychology of Creativity
·June 15—June 28
·Marshall Duke
Why are certain people so creative? Is it genetic (遗传的), or a result of childhood experience? Are they different from everyone else? This popular psychology course highlights the different theories of creativity.
COURSE: Creative Storytelling
·June 21 — July 3
·Edith Freni
This college-level course in creative storytelling functions as an introduction to a variety of storytelling techniques that appear in different forms of creative writing, such as short fiction and playwriting.
COURSE: Sports Economics
·July 19 — August 1
·Christina DePasquale
In this course we will analyze many interesting aspects of the sports industry: sports leagues, ticket pricing, salary negotiations, discrimination, and NCAA policies to name a few.
1. Who is the text intended for?A.The general public. | B.College freshmen. |
C.Educational experts. | D.High school students. |
A.Sports Economics. | B.Creative Storytelling. |
C.Psychology of Creativity. | D.Case Studies in Neuroscience. |
A.Leah Roesch’s. | B.Edith Freni’s. |
C.Marshall Duke’s. | D.Christina DePasquale’s. |
3 . Xi'an
It was called Chang'an in ancient times. As the cradle (发源地) of Chinese civilization, it has a really long history. The city passed through the Zhou Dynasty, the Han Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty and some other dynasties as the capital city. It enjoys the title of the “four major ancient civilization capitals” with ancient Athens, Cairo and Rome.
Luoyang
It was the capital city of 13 dynasties, and it was listed as the world's largest city six times in history. Luoyang once was the starting point of the Silk Road in eastern countries. It connected Europe and North Africa with Asia.
Kaifeng
As early as the Neolithic Age (新石器时代), our ancestors lived here. Its history can be traced back to the Xia Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty. It was the capital city of the Later Jin Dynasty, the Later Han Dynasty, the Later Zhou Dynasty as well as the Northern Song Dynasty. It achieved great prosperity (繁荣) in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Yangzhou
As one of the 24 famous historical and cultural cities listed by the State Council, Yangzhou has a history of about 2,500 years. It reached great prosperity in the Han, Sui, Tang, and Qing Dynasties. It used to be an important business center and a center of transportation.
Chengdu
It is an ancient cultural city, with two miracles in Chinese history. One is that its name has been the same for 2,000 years; the other is that it has always been the capital city of Sichuan region. It's a capital with a glorious history.
1. What is this passage mainly about?A.Five of the largest cities with a long history in China. |
B.Five famous modern cities with a long history in China. |
C.Five of the most beautiful cities with a long history in China. |
D.Five famous ancient cultural cities with a long history in China. |
A.Xi'an. | B.Kaifeng. |
C.Luoyang. | D.Yangzhou. |
A.history | B.culture |
C.economy | D.beauty |
A.business | B.schooling |
C.parenting | D.traveling |
4 . When it came time to vote for the speaker at graduation in the class meeting, Ms. Lenihan asked who would like to be our class speaker. Being a (an)
After spending the whole week practicing a speech, I stood up in front of my classmates. There were eight to ten other participants, and I didn’t
Over the next month I worked on my graduation speech. When I stood up in front of the whole school, I was still nervous,
A.shy | B.honest | C.outgoing | D.lazy |
A.duty | B.shame | C.loss | D.relief |
A.stayed up | B.climbed up | C.marched up | D.pulled up |
A.disappointed | B.depressed | C.embarrassed | D.frightened |
A.faith | B.interest | C.pride | D.ambition |
A.win | B.expect | C.prove | D.share |
A.threat | B.anxiety | C.excitement | D.depression |
A.achievement | B.destination | C.failure | D.challenge |
A.till | B.then | C.but | D.so |
A.proceeded | B.promised | C.encouraged | D.changed |
5 .
Welcome back to school! Have you signed up for an after-school activity yet? Here are some of the activities you can try.
SPORTS TEAMS
Do you like sports? How about joining the football team? It has tryouts at 3:00 pm next Tuesday. Many of our best players have moved up to college. So now the team needs new players. For more information, meet our sports advisors, Ms. Matte or Mr. Stergis.
GOOD AT ART?
This year, your schoolmates in the school art club plan to paint a mural (壁画) on the wall by the office. So they need new members to help create it. Are you interested in drawing, painting or taking photographs? This club is for you. The first meeting of the school year is at 3:15 pm next Wednesday in room 221. Please see Ms. Greenway for more information.
NEW THIS YEAR
There are some new activities you can have a go at. Try the new after-school science club. It has plans to enter the national senior robotics competition this year. So if you want to try building a robot, this club is for you. See Mr. Larson in room 105 for more details. The club meets at 3:30 pm every Thursday.
Do you like acting? Are you good at singing? The school play this year is a musical — The Sound of Music. Come and try out for it at 3:10 pm next Monday in room 125.
For a list of all the after-school activities this year, click here, or pick up a membership form from the advisor’s office — room 107.
1. When are the tryouts for the football team?A.At 3:10 pm next Monday. | B.At 3:00 pm next Tuesday. |
C.At 3:15 pm next Wednesday. | D.At 3:30 pm every Thursday. |
A.To paint a mural. | B.To put on a musical. |
C.To offer photography courses. | D.To enter a national competition. |
A.In room 221. | B.In room 125. | C.In room 107. | D.In room 105. |
6 . A 23-year-old woman has achieved an unbelievable feat that many of us dream of -visiting every country on Earth.
Lexie Alford was born into a family of travel agents, which gave her the opportunity to
I also loved visiting Northern Pakistan, for the natural beauty of the mountains and kindness of the locals were astonishing,” Lexie Alford said. “The most pleasant surprise about travelling to all these misunderstood areas of the world was that the countries that I had the
“My
A.remark | B.settle | C.tour | D.love |
A.fund | B.quit | C.switch | D.register |
A.powerful | B.ideal | C.developed | D.remaining |
A.ranked | B.modified | C.followed | D.criticized |
A.inspire | B.grill | C.understand | D.accompany |
A.occasionally | B.simply | C.completely | D.temporarily |
A.dream | B.button | C.family | D.observation |
A.platform | B.agency | C.process | D.country |
A.dull | B.official | C.natural | D.challenging |
A.adult | B.youth | C.bosses | D.agents |
A.most | B.least | C.greatest | D.worst |
A.started with | B.showed off | C.ended up | D.searched for |
A.advice | B.compromise | C.belief | D.information |
A.save | B.appreciate | C.worsen | D.make |
A.honor | B.career | C.time | D.assessment |
7 . How do you spend your spare time? There will be different answers to it. Most people in Poland(波兰) have their own ways of spending free time. Sometimes they just want to have a rest, but they try to do something more pleasant most of the time. They have many different hobbies, which help them to get away from their everyday problems and spend their free time happily.
Many Polish(波兰的) people like travelling. They look for new places that they have never been to and add new and exciting experiences to their journey. Some of them like to climb mountains, others like to go to the sea or a lake to swim, because these can make them get exercise and are good for their health.
Many Polish people also like to watch sports in their free time. They are usually crazy about football, and football is regarded as the Polish national sport. Many football fans may support a certain team, so they go to watch every match of the team they support, and they buy many things that have any relation with the team. Watching a sport and doing it are both good ways to relax.
In addition, doctors say that doing sports is very good for the health. Many people in town, especially young men, often go to the gym to attend the exercise classes to keep fit.
Besides these ways, Polish people have many other ways to spend their free time. And they really enjoy their free time.
1. Polish people have many different hobbies in order to ________.A.solve their daily problems | B.finish all their work |
C.make some friends | D.relax themselves in their spare time |
A.Because they hate travelling. | B.Because they can get exercise from it. |
C.Because they can find a new place. | D.Because it is comfortable and funny. |
A.Playing football. | B.Climbing mountains. |
C.Skating. | D.Swimming. |
8 . When it comes to my fathering lessons, few adventures compare to the motorcycle trips I’ve shared with my daughter, Ewa.
Our first
On our second day, we
Me: “We don’t know. ”
It
Since we almost
A.sail | B.flight | C.goal | D.journey |
A.avoided | B.chose | C.built | D.promoted |
A.straight | B.twisty | C.main | D.broad |
A.walking | B.running | C.riding | D.laughing |
A.settled | B.stopped | C.landed | D.moved |
A.population | B.rule | C.name | D.position |
A.occurred | B.happened | C.mattered | D.referred |
A.engineer | B.bicyclist | C.chemist | D.motorcyclist |
A.destination | B.reaction | C.exploration | D.explanation |
A.course | B.benefit | C.feature | D.present |
A.never | B.always | C.completely | D.absolutely |
A.satisfied | B.disappointed | C.surprised | D.frightened |
A.out | B.in | C.off | D.down |
A.grew | B.failed | C.waited | D.survived |
A.silent | B.smooth | C.careful | D.energetic |
9 . How Did You Get Five Fingers?
Your arms and toes began as tiny buds that sprouted from your sides when you were just a four-week-old embryo (胚胎). By six weeks, these limb buds had grown longer and five rods of cartilage 软骨) had appeared in their flattened tips. By week seven, the cells between the rods had died away, forming five small fingers or toes from once-solid masses of flesh.
Now, a team of scientists led by James Sharpe from the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona has discovered that these events are carefully orchestrated by three molecules. They mark out zones in the embryonic hand where fingers will grow, and the spaces in between that are destined to die. Without such molecules, pianos and keyboards wouldn’t exist, and jazz hands would be jazz palms.
These three molecules work in a way first envisioned by Alan Turing, a legendary English mathematician and code-breaker. Back in 1952, Turing proposed a simple mathematical model in which two molecules could create patterns by spreading through tissues and interacting with each other. For example, the first molecule might activate the second, while the second blocks the first. Neither receives any guidance about where to go; through their dance, they spontaneously organize themselves into spots or stripes.
Since then, many scientists have found that these Turing mechanisms exist. They’re responsible for a cheetah’s spots and a zebrafish’s stripes. For 30 years, people have also suggested that they could sculpt our hands and feet, but no one had found the exact molecules involved.
Sharpe knew that these molecules would need to show a striped pattern. Sox9 seemed like the most promising candidate. It is activated in a striped pattern from a very early stage of development. By comparing cells where Sox9 is active or inactive, Jelena Raspopovic and Luciano Marcon found two other groups of genes—Bmp and Wnt—also formed striped patterns. Bmp rises and falls in step with Sox9 and both are active in the digits. Wnt is out of phase; it’s active in the gaps. The three molecules also affect each other: Bmp activates Sox9 while Wnt blocks it; and Sox9 blocks both of its partners. It looked like these were the molecules the team was searching for not a pair, as Turing suggested, but a trinity. To confirm this, they created a simulation of a growing limb bud and showed that Sox9, Bmp and Wnt could organize themselves into a pattern of five stripes, by activating and blocking each other.
There’s still a lot to discover, though. For example, I’ve used Bmp and Wnt as shorthands here—in reality, each represents a class of several molecules, and the team still needs to work out which specific member is part of the Turing’s proposal.
1. The underlined sentence in the second paragraph means that ________.A.some certain molecules are necessary for the growth of human fingers |
B.the development of embryos is dependent on some certain molecules |
C.without some certain molecules, music won’t exist in this world |
D.the molecules work in a way that Alan Turing once offered |
A.Molecules interact by following a strict mathematical model. |
B.Molecules have a strong will to form patterns in nature. |
C.The formation of patterns in nature may be dominated by molecules. |
D.Alan Turing was able to track down the movement of molecules. |
A.A protein that determines humans’ development in childhood. |
B.A gene especially important for the development of our limbs. |
C.A striped pattern that always interacts with Bmp and Wnt. |
D.A simulation of growing limbs that activate and block each other. |
A.How human limbs are developed may well be similar to how animal spots are shaped. |
B.The way Sox9 interacts with Bmp and Wnt is still a mystery that needs further studying. |
C.Sox9 can activate both Bmp and Wnt to form our limbs, according to scientific research. |
D.Sox9, Bmp and Wnt are three specific molecules that determine the growth of fingers. |
10 . Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class fun homework—to draw a picture of something for which they were
Most of the class might be
But Douglas made a
Yes, his
His strange image captured the
When the children had gone on to other pictures, she walked up to Douglas’ desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was.
The little boy looked away and muttered (低声说出),“ It’s yours.”
She
A.eager | B.grateful | C.concerned | D.prepared |
A.considered | B.accepted | C.produced | D.imagined |
A.tests | B.texts | C.arts | D.answers |
A.same | B.different | C.similar | D.right |
A.in addition | B.as a result | C.by contrast | D.in other words |
A.incredible | B.anxious | C.happy | D.sad |
A.holiday | B.picture | C.tradition | D.pain |
A.approved | B.employed | C.asked | D.persuaded |
A.dream | B.preference | C.imagination | D.hope |
A.student | B.doctor | C.cook | D.farmer |
A.care for | B.appeal to | C.trade with | D.call on |
A.class | B.discussion | C.game | D.action |
A.remembered | B.recorded | C.watched | D.researched |
A.sang | B.walked | C.talked | D.complained |
A.break | B.sell | C.fix | D.hold |