1 . When writing a complaint letter, you should keep it short and to the point to help ensure that your letter will be read in its entirety. If you write a seven-page complaint letter, it’s highly unlikely that someone will sit down and read all seven pages.
The complaint letter should be addressed to the customer service department. The address and contact information of the customer service department should be available on the company’s products or website.
A printed complaint letter should be written in the business letter format, while an e-mail should be sent in the same format but without the heading (your return address, their address, and the date).
In the first paragraph you should make clear what the issue is. Be sure to include the following information: the time of the issue, location, the name of the person on duty, the name of the product, what the problem is, your account number, model number, price and warranty(保修单) information. Be sure to stick with the facts and avoid putting emotions into your letter.
The next paragraph should state what outcome you would like of the problem, if you received poor service, you could request an apology or a coupon (优惠券). If a product malfunctioned, you could request that you could exchange the product for a new one or request a refund.
The last paragraph should thank the reader for the time. You can also politely express appreciation over something you like about their company’s product or service.
Be sure to keep a copy of the letter for yourself and include photocopies of all documents and envelop them with your letter. You should include your telephone number or e-mail address after your printed name so that they can get in touch with you as soon as possible if necessary.
1. Why should you keep the complaint letter short and to the point?| A．Because the longer it is, the more detailed it will be. |
| B．Because it can make sure that the letter is taken seriously. |
| C．Because longer letters can show my emotions. |
| D．Because short letters are more formal business letters. |
| A．In the heading. | B．In the first paragraph. |
| C．In the second paragraph. | D．After the printed name. |
| A．Failed to function well. | B．Met one’s need. |
| C．Was well produced. | D．Was wrongly delivered |
| A．By analyzing causes. | B．By showing differences. |
| C．By describing a process. | D．By following time order. |
2 . Two-time cancer survivor Tracy Pepper has developed an unlikely friendship — with a beautiful butterfly, which she called Fluffy.
Ms. Pepper found Fluffy in her garden struggling for life soon after birth. After feeding it on honey from a sunflower, Fluffy recovered but didn’t regain the use of its wings and has remained with Ms. Pepper ever since.
She has been recording the experience on social media. In one post, she wrote, “I’m the crazy butterfly lady! I just spent 3 hours playing with him, exercising him by walking him up and down my fingers and arms, feeding him and even giving him the feeling of flying! He sat on my hand and beat his wings as I moved my hand up and down pretending he was flying!”
Ms. Pepper said it was sympathy and empathy that drove her. After battling against cancer twice and keeping herself busy with aid work in Africa, she fell into a “depression” last year.
“When I found him helpless and unable to fly, I knew just how he felt. I went through burn-out last year. I wanted to give up… I felt really lonely.”
So she decided to help the insect, to which she has become attached. Ms. Pepper even advertised tickets of internationally-famous Cirque du Soleil’s act she had for sale because she thought staying at home to care for Fluffy was more important.
Unfortunately, Fluffy wouldn’t be around for long — the lifespan of a butterfly ranges from two to six weeks.
But she seemed to care little about it. She wrote on Facebook, “He has a wonderful life and when his time comes, he will die flat and happy and very very loved.”
1. What was the butterfly like when Ms. Pepper first saw it?| A．It was dying. |
| B．It was too old to fly. |
| C．It was struggling against an enemy. |
| D．It was feeding itself on honey from a sunflower. |
| A．Because she lost interest in the act. |
| B．Because she had to stay home to look after the butterfly. |
| C．Because she was busy with aid work in Africa. |
| D．Because she suffered from cancer twice and was too weak. |
| A．She felt sorry about it. | B．She remained calm about it. |
| C．She was rather disappointed with it. | D．She had some doubts about it. |
| A．Because she was interested and curious. |
| B．Because she loved small animals. |
| C．Because she showed sympathy and understanding for it. |
| D．Because she desired to get close to nature. |
3 . Technology use seems to be the new wave of addiction hitting people of all ages. Its extreme use can be compared to the use of drugs, which is called Plug-in Heroin.
The next time you’re in a crowded public place, look at the people around you. It’s hard to find someone who isn’t glued to the tiny screen, fingers moving at lightning speeds, texting their friends, e-mailing coworkers or listening to music. It may seem ridiculous that someone is that addicted to such a small object. I’ve seen people who seem to be at their wits’ end if their phone or iPad has been taken away, lost or left at home.
Some people may ask, “What’s wrong with technology use? It’s a way for people to communicate.” While this is true, the overuse of technology isn’t always appropriate in certain settings. Schools are becoming stricter about the use of cell phones, iPods and other electronics in classrooms. Various workplaces have signs hanging on their walls warning employees that “Cell phone use is not permitted” or “Cell phones are forbidden”. On the first warning you will be sent home, and on the second warning you will be fired.
Electronics may be a way for people to communicate and stay in touch with each other, but the disadvantages may outweigh the benefits. People are losing the ability to hold face-to-face conversations with others. However, it’s hard to avoid electronics in this day and age because almost everything is turning into an electronic format. Books, originally meant for paper design, are now being transferred to electronic forms. Photo albums, and even yearbooks, can now be viewed via the Internet. With this growing trend, future generations are bound to become even more addicted to technology.
Is there a cure for electronic addiction? Simply turning electronics off for an hour or two a day may help to an extent, but it will not completely rid electronic addiction. There only seems to be one cure left, and it may be the hardest: self control.
1. What is Plug-in Heroin?| A．The growing popularity of electronics. |
| B．The serious consequences of technology use. |
| C．The future possibility of technology development. |
| D．The unreasonable dependence on electronics. |
| A．show people’s addiction to electronics. |
| B．persuade people to quit electronics. |
| C．prove electronics are harmful to people. |
| D．tell people it is ridiculous to use electronics. |
| A．People have no interest in traditional paper designs. |
| B．More information tends to be available in electronic forms. |
| C．It is the only way people stay in touch with each other. |
| D．People have fewer chances to communicate in person. |
| A．approving. | B．indifferent. | C．critical. | D．doubtful. |
4 . Over the years, you've probably known a good number of people-some for only a short period and others for a much longer time. If you spend a moment thinking back on the people who have meant the very most to you, selflessness will be the same thing they share. There might have been a person who really believed in you. Someone taught you something important. Someone cared for you in his or her own way. Someone has simply always remained your friend.
Many years ago, I traveled through the beautiful, history-rich country of Greece. With only a small backpack, I stayed at youth hotels, visiting city after city. One day, a shoulder strap on my backpack broke. I didn't speak any Greek and the owner didn't speak any English. I went to the front desk of my hotel and tried to ask him if there might be a shop nearby where I could have it repaired. He was clearly very busy. But he asked someone to watch over the front desk and then signed to me to follow him. We walked together for a few blocks,arriving at a little shoe repair shop. Within ten minutes, my backpack was repaired, and then the hotel owner insisted on paying for it!
I was shocked by this powerful, unexpected kindness. More than any other thing, it's what I recall most often when I think about my trip to Greece. Sometimes, you may not have even realized how much your selflessness toward someone has mattered. As the saying goes, "To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world."
1. What's wrong with the author's backpack？ ________| A．One of its shoulder straps was broken. | B．It was got dirty by a cleaner. |
| C．One of its pockets was broken. | D．There was a hole in it. |
| A．Mean. | B．Warm-hearted. | C．Clever. | D．Humorous. |
| A．He became a lifelong friend of the hotel owner. | B．He spent all his money in travelling in Greece. |
| C．He picked up Greek while travelling in Greece. | D．He'll never forget the hotel owner's kindness. |
| A．To show his love of travelling. | B．To explore the value of selflessness. |
| C．To give a short introduction to Greece. | D．To introduce a shoe repair shop in Greece. |
5 . Decades ago, NASA asked experts to develop the "smell of space" in order to help prepare astronauts for the experience of outer space. Now, a perfume, Eau de Space, has attracted eager buyers.
According to the Kickstarter activity, which has been launched to sell Eau de Space, the history of the "smell of space" has been unclear owing to various accounts of its development. Ever since the first spacewalk, astronauts have been shocked by the smell.
NASA astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield said,"The only time you can smell space is when you come back from a spacewalk. As you open the hatch(舱门),there is a distinctive smell."Some astronauts and space tourists describe it as the smell of fruit, or burnt cookies. Astronaut Eugene Cerman talked of another smell he experienced:"The moon smells like spent gunpowder."The smell of space is so distinet that NASA reached out to fragrance makers to recreate the smell, according to NASA documents.
Now, the makers have cooperated with award-winning perfumers(香水制造者),and reported that they've secured commercial contracts to reproduce the smell based on astronauts' accounts.
At $ 29 per bottle, Eau de Space will help support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs for students. "For every bottle of Eau de Space you buy,we're going to donate $ 1 to a STEM program for low-income students. It's a big promise and isn't the best decision for a company trying to make a profit. But, imagine that a child who smells Eau de Space today is whipped up to become an astronaut, scientist or engineer," shows Kickstarter.
Eau de Space will be made in the UK employing low-income labor and environment-friendly practices, including zero manufacturing waste, according to the campaign. So far,about 11,000 people have become supporters.
1. Why was the Kickstarter campaign started?| A．To promote Eau de Space. | B．To attract perfume makers. |
| C．To explain the "smell of space". | D．To recreate the "smell of space". |
| A．Its makers will make a profit of $ 28 per bottle. |
| B．It has been available in the market for a long time. |
| C．It can get astronauts ready for their space experience. |
| D．Its smell is designed according to astronauts' descriptions. |
| A．Trained. | B．Inspired. |
| C．Forced. | D．Persuaded |
| A．Eau de Space, a Perfume Used in Space |
| B．Eau de Space, a Perfume on the Way |
| C．The History of Developing the "Smell of Space" |
| D．Astronauts' Different Accounts About the Space Smell |
6 . Israeli researchers say they have created the world's first three-dimensional, or 3D-printed heart using a patient's own cells. They described the experiment as "a major medical breakthrough." Tal Dvir, the lead researcher on the project, said in a statement that it was the first time that human cells had been used with 3D printing technology to successfully create a whole heart. Dvir added that the "printed" heart contains blood vessels which are needed to pump blood. The development marks a step forward for 3D printing in the medical field.
The researchers took samples of fatty tissue from patients. This material was then used to develop “ink” for the 3D printing process. First, the researchers created patches of tissue from the patient’s own cells. Later, they used that same process to create a small version of a whole heart. Using the patient’s own cells is important to reduce the risk that the body’s system to fight infection will reject a transplanted organ.
The goal, the researchers said, is to treat heart disease. The World Health Organization reports that heart disease is by far the leading cause of death worldwide. For patients with severe heart disease, a heart transplant is currently the main treatment available. The researchers hope their invention can help ease the demand for heart transplant donors.
Dvir says that the newly-created heart represents great progress. However, more research and development is needed to produce a fully operating, transplantable organ. One of the biggest challenges for the engineering team will be finding a way to create a human-sized heart.
Dvir said his team planned to transplant heart models designed for animals, possibly within the next year. He added that, for human use, “simpler organs” will likely be produced before hearts. “Maybe, in ten years, there will be organ printers in the finest hospitals around the world,” Dvir said. He hopes such methods will be used “routinely” to produce organs in the future.
1. Why should patients’ own cells be used to create a 3D heart?| A．To avoid being rejected. | B．To make it suitable to print. |
| C．To fight infection. | D．To build up immune system. |
| A．To adopt printing technology. | B．To create human organs. |
| C．To treat heart disease. | D．To develop organ printers. |
| A．They will be developed to create organs routinely. |
| B．They will be widely used to treat different diseases. |
| C．They will be used to transplant organs for animals. |
| D．They will be applied to various fields in the world. |
| A．An artificial heart. | B．A major medical breakthrough |
| C．A scientific project | D．A great research team. |
7 . If you want to do your kids a favor, consider having them walk to school. Walking to school provides many benefits – improving academic performance, reducing anxiety, boosting spirits, better sleep, a sense of independence, having an opportunity to familiarize oneself with a neighborhood, to notice small details, to feel a sense of wonder at the surroundings. The list goes on.
Parental fears still exist, however. Parents are terrified of cars, of injury, of harsh weather, of encounters with strangers and wild animals. These fears prevent parents from letting their kids do something that's actually enormously beneficial to them, despite the fact that removing an opportunity to be active contributes to an increase in childhood obesity, which can have a greater negative impact on a child's life than the risk of being injured due to being active.
How do we go from being a society that does not encourage its children to walk independently to being one that does? Parents must face their own discomfort with letting go. Brussoni, an expert who researches children's outdoor and risky play, said "We want to move parents from focusing solely on protecting their child to building trust in their child’s abilities and strategies to support their child’s skills in navigating the streetscape."
Schools can play a role by encouraging children to walk to school. Brussoni offers additional suggestions: "They should promote a culture that walking to school is the norm, help educate parents on why this is important, and consider closing the streets around the school to cars before and after school."
Parents might do well to put themselves in their children's shoes. As adults, we know how good a morning walk feels to start off a day or to end one. Walking energizes us and cheers us up, and it can do the same for children. As we go through this pandemic that has shaken up all of our lives, it's a good time to practice new routines and establish new habits. Walking to school is a great place to start.
1. What can we infer about kids’ usual way of going to school?| A．They walk to school alone. | B．They are driven to school. |
| C．They ride bikes to school. | D．They are led to school by teachers. |
| A．Focus on their child’s safety. | B．Protect their child against injury. |
| C．Believe their child’s abilities. | D．Strike traffic rules into their child’s heart. |
| A．Schools. | B．Societies. | C．Governments. | D．Children. |
| A．To illustrate the roles of parents and schools. |
| B．To advise parents to have kids walk to school. |
| C．To promote a way of establishing a new routine. |
| D．To encourage kids to form a good habit. |
8 . "For years, we had seen a lot of old villages dying slowly before being torn down. It's such a shame. So I wanted to do something," says Zhang Lei, a professor from the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Nanjing University.
Zhang's two design works for Librairie Avant-Garde, the Yunxi Library bookshop in Tonglu county's Daijiashan village and Chenjiapu Bookstore in Songyang county, both in East China's Zhejiang province, were opened respectively in 2015 and 2018. The villages have since seen increasing number of visitors. Hostels have been built and, as a result, property prices in the villages have soared. For instance, the annual rent of a house in Daijiashan village was 2,000 yuan ($306) in 2015, but has now grown to 8,000 yuan.
Similarly, Chenjiapu village used to be dying despite a history stretching back 600 years. The bookstore, however, means that holidays bring so many visitors that there are often traffic jams on the road leading to the village. "I never thought that a small bookstore could change the fate of a village," he says.
When Qian Xiaohua, founder of Librairie Avant-Garde headquartered in Nanjing, started opening bookstores in the countryside six years ago, he met with a lot of doubts and questions. After all, bookstores in cities, with much bigger populations, could barely survive due to online competition. Even more surprisingly, Qian prefers targeting old villages that are losing their young people, with just the elderly and children left behind. Those villages are usually located in picturesque surroundings, many with historical details. Qian, accompanied by architects, will then choose old buildings from the villages to be renovated into well-lit modern bookstores that remain true to their original structures and decorative aspects.
Since April 2014, Qian has opened five bookstores in the countryside. All have attracted large numbers of tourists and even young villagers to return home. Apart from their commercial success and subsequent economic revival of the villages, these bookstores have become new public spaces for locals, benefiting the development of rural areas in the long run.
1. What can we know about many old villages from Zhang Lei’s words in paragraph 1?| A．They were booming gradually. | B．They were being deserted. |
| C．They were under construction. | D．They were overdeveloped. |
| A．Risen. | B．Decreased. | C．Changed. | D．Overturned |
| A．Favorable. | B．Interested. | C．Hopeful. | D．Skeptical. |
| A．Old Villages Survive Amazingly | B．Rebuild Traditional Settlements |
| C．Bookstores Rewrite Old Villages | D．Knowledge Changes Villages |
9 . How to be Sociable - Virtual Class
How to Be Sociable is a 2.5 hour class by The School of Life which takes place regularly in our virtual classroom.
Why should I attend?
We all long to have sincere, intimate, warm-hearted and interesting meetings with friends and strangers but too often, we fail to connect as we would like to. This is a class expressly designed to teach us the skills to have the kind of social life we deserve. It shows us how to escape unfruitful and loneliness inducing small talk and how elegantly to start to have properly enriching connections with others. We are not only shown where we are going wrong, we’re given practical guidance and group rehearsals in winning strategies. Not least, we will laugh together as we learn.
What will I learn?
How to Be Sociable teaches:
What should our friendships be for?
What is charm and how do we acquire it?
How can one be at ease in social situations?
What makes a good conversationalist?
What makes a good listener?
Evening Classes - All timings are in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
6:15pm GMT session open
6:30pm GMT class begins
9:00pm GMT class ends
Morning Classes - All timings are in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
9:15am GMT session open
9:30am GMT class begins
12:00pm GMT class ends
Dates and times are available to book below. New dates for this class are added throughout the year.
For more information, please see our London FAQs or contact classroom @theschooloflife.com
CLASSROOM TESTIMONIALS(评价)
‘Really welcoming to those coming by themselves and very interesting theoretical information/discussions’
‘Really enlightening experience; thank you so much’
‘Excellent; good fun and thought provoking’
‘Fantastic experience; varied practical exercises; dynamic and engaging teacher; absolutely great.’
1. In which aspect do you benefit from the virtual class?| A．Sense of direction. | B．Practical life skills. | C．Social skills. | D．Winning matches. |
| A．6:15 am – 8:45 am. | B．7:00 am -9:30 am. | C．3:30pm –6:00 pm. | D．6:30 pm --9:00 pm. |
| A．To praise energetic teachers. | B．To introduce interesting activities. |
| C．To present useful exercises. | D．To confirm the class is worthwhile. |
10 . I remember that it was a fall morning when the orchestra (管弦乐队) teachers came into Miss Newell’s third-grade classroom. “You have hands for the viola(中提琴),” Miss Ciano told me. I was excited because my hands were finally good for something. I told my parents I wanted to play, and naturally, they agreed.
Since I first touched the viola, I haven’t been able to put it down. Ignoring the difficulty, I am pulled closer to it each day.
Classical music is truly my best friend. It is the trusted friend of every man, woman and child. Various feelings are expressed in classical music. I discovered that when I was eleven and played a cello concerto (大提琴协奏曲) of Bach in a competition, the first movement was joyful, but the second movement was mysterious and full of pain. From the piece, I learned that music expresses not only feelings, but also sudden mood changes. By listening to classical music, I know that someone else shares these feelings. Since I am lucky enough to be able to play classical music, I am comforted by it when I am upset. It gives me a way to escape from my problems for a short period. Classical music can express my joy, sadness and anger.
Now look back at that fall day in the third grade and think how gullible I was for believing that anyone, even music teachers, could tell whether hands were perfect for a certain instrument. I’m certain they told me I had “ viola hands” not because they were fortune-tellers(算命师), but because there was a lack of violists in our district. Classical music is one of the best things that ever happened to mankind. If you get introduced to it in the right way, it will become your friend for life.
1. What’s the author’s purpose in writing the first and second paragraphs?| A．To introduce an interesting musical class. |
| B．To show the importance of proper guide. |
| C．To offer the evidence of her gift for music. |
| D．To tell the power of support from parents. |
| A．By developing social skills. | B．By broadening life experience. |
| C．By improving mental health. | D．By building close relationship. |
| A．Firmly opposed. | B．Easily tricked. |
| C．Greatly affected. | D．Secretly hidden. |
| A．Lifetime dream, great effort. | B．Happy childhood, unforgotten experience. |
| C．Special event, sweet memory. | D．Classical music, endless friendship |
