1 . Whether it's studying for exams, working on a project or struggling with an essay, we've all been under huge stress at some point. When it gets hard for us to bear, we can reach a level of exhaustion — the terrible burnout (倦怠). However, that feeling of exhaustion is not just physical; it can be mental as well.
According to Psychology Today, burnout isn't just caused by working long hours; it is more about prolonged or repeated exposure to a stressful situation.
Its result can be feelings of cynicism, depression and lethargy (嗜睡). Suffering from burnout can stifle (扼杀) our creativity and productivity. Ironically, this means that striving to be more efficient can result in a reduction in our productivity. But what can we do to avoid the evils of burnout? Well, there are some tips that may help you.
Psychologist Albert Bandura's idea of self-efficacy — which is the theory that you should believe in your ability to complete a task at hand — may assist you. A feeling that the task is achievable and that you are capable of succeeding might make a difficult task less tiresome.
Finding ways to express your creative side may help. Not everyone has creative aspects to their jobs, therefore, they need to find other outlets. They could paint, write or take part in local theatre. All of this may help to free them from the stress that may exist in their working life.
Looking after yourself and your surroundings can also be beneficial. The consequence is that you are surrounded by a cleaner and more positive environment. This, in turn, leads to another tip, which is to have healthy and positive thoughts. Being negative can be incredibly draining (心力交瘁的). Having a positive mental attitude towards everything you do means that you may feel more capable as well.
Burnout is a common condition associated with the pressures of the modern world. It's not just a physical condition; it has psychological effects that can impact heavily on your work and life in general. Taking steps to avoid burning out can benefit not just us, but our bosses and families.
1. What is the main reason for burnout?| A．Lack of sleep. |
| B．Working long hours. |
| C．Struggling with an essay. |
| D．Being under stressful situations. |
| A．Making a task easier. |
| B．Being less creative. |
| C．Working more efficiently. |
| D．Completing work quickly. |
| A．Focus on your work anyway. |
| B．Doubt your ability in working. |
| C．Expose yourself to positive surroundings. |
| D．Find your creative aspects in the job. |
| A．Burnout: A mental condition that deserves attention |
| B．Burnout: A physical condition that can be ignored |
| C．Why are people under huge stress in modern life |
| D．Why can stress affect your work and life |
2 . When Barzilay had a routine breast X-ray in her early 40s, the image showed a complex group of white spots in her breast tissue. The marks could be normal, or they could be cancerous-even the best doctors often struggle to tell the difference. Over the next two years Barzilay underwent a second X-ray, a MRI and a biopsy and she was finally diagnosed（诊断） with breast cancer in 2014.
Barzilay was treated and made a good recovery. But she remained terrified that the uncertainties of reading an X-ray could delay treatment so she made a career-changing decision.
A computer scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Barzilay had never studied health before. Her research used machine-learning techniques for natural language processing. But she had been looking for a new line of research and decided to team up with radiologists (放射科医生) to develop machine-learning algorithms (算法) that use computers' superior visual analysis to spot patterns in X-rays that the human eye might miss.
Over the next four years the team taught a computer program to analyze X-rays from about 32,000 women and told it which women had been diagnosed with cancer within five years of the scan. They then tested the computer's matching abilities in 3,800 more patients. Their resulting algorithm, published last May in Radiology, was significantly more accurate at predicting cancer than practices generally used in clinics. When Barzilay's team ran the program on her own X-ray from 2012-one her doctor had cleared-the algorithm correctly predicted she was at a higher risk of developing breast cancer within five years than 98 percent of patients.
AI applications are entering clinics at a rapid rate, and physicians have met the technology with equal parts excitement about its potential to reduce their workload and fear about losing their jobs to machines. Algorithms also raise questions about how to regulate a machine that is constantly learning and changing and who is to blame if an algorithm gets a diagnosis wrong. Still, many physicians are excited about the promise of AI programs.
1. What advantage do Barzilay's algorithms take of computers to predict cancer?| A．Superior visual analysis. |
| B．Timely risk warning settings. |
| C．Natural-language processing techniques. |
| D．Large storage of radiological knowledge. |
| A．Cancer. | B．Research. |
| C．The team. | D．The program. |
| A．They doubt the accuracy of the applications. |
| B．They have mixed feelings about the applications. |
| C．They promise to make the best of the applications. |
| D．They expect to rapidly popularize the applications. |
| A．Barzilay suffered from breast cancer for two years in her forties |
| B．at first Barzilay didn't think X-ray was a reliable way of checking cancer |
| C．with Barzilay's algorithms her cancer could have been diagnosed earlier |
| D．Barzilay failed to turn to the best doctors to have her breast checked |
3 . Kobe Bryant was one of nine people killed in a helicopter crash on 26, Jan. 2019. He was 41. His 13-year-old daughter Gianna was also killed in the crash. Bryant was one of the greatest NBA players of all-time and an icon in the sports world. In addition to his success on the basketball court, Bryant was known for a ceaseless work ethic and incredible drive.
In honor of Bryant’s legacy, here are some inspiring quotes from Bryant on hard work, success, and life.
On achieving success:
“When you make a choice and say, ‘Come hell or high water, I am going to be this,’ then you should not be surprised when you are that. It should not be something that is intoxicating or out of character because you have seen this moment for so long that ... when that moment comes, of course it is here because it has been here the whole time, because it has been [in your mind] the whole time.”
On failure:
“I don’t mean to sound cavalier when I say that, but never. It’s basketball. I’ve practiced and practiced and played so many times. There’s nothing truly to be afraid of, when you think about it ... Because I’ve failed before, and I woke up the next morning, and I’m OK. People say bad things about you in the paper on Monday, and then on Wednesday, you're the greatest thing since sliced bread. I’ve seen that cycle, so why would I be nervous about it happening?”
On life:
“There’s a choice that we have to make as people, as individuals. If you want to be great at something there is a choice you have to make. We can all be masters at our craft, but you have to make a choice. What I mean by that is, there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that — family time, hanging out with your friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with that.”
On retiring and facing the end of his basketball career:
“There is beauty in that. I mean, it's going through the cycle. I mean, it's the cycle that is the natural progression of growth, of maturation. I mean, there's no sadness in that ... I see the beauty in not being able to blow past defenders anymore, you know what I mean? I see the beauty in getting up in the morning and being in pain because I know all the hard work that it took to get to this point. So, I’m not, I'm not sad about it. I'm very appreciative of what I've had.”
1. What is the attitude of Kobe Bryant towards achieving success by saying “Come hell or high water, I am going to be this”?| A．Confident | B．Determined |
| C．Optimistic | D．Frightened |
| A．not serious or caring | B．anxious and eager |
| C．worried and pessimistic | D．not proud or arrogant |
| A．fight against those who said bad things about him. |
| B．worry about others’ comments on his performance. |
| C．cheer for himself by regarding himself as the greatest figure. |
| D．show no fear facing ups and downs. |
| A．People paid tribute to Kobe Bryant for his success on the basketball court. |
| B．Kobe Bryant devoted more of his life to basketball instead of accompanying his family. |
| C．Kobe Bryant regarded his retirement as the beginning of another career. |
| D．Kobe Bryant felt emotionless when facing the end of his basketball career. |
4 . Last week, at a construction site near Austin, Texas, workers heard the cries of a puppy（小狗）. They went around the construction site trying to figure out where these cries were coming from. They figured the puppy was trapped somewhere. Then they realized it was actually coming from the sky. High above their heads, a puppy was flying through the air-in the claws of a hawk（鹰）. At that very moment, the bird suddenly let go and the tiny screaming puppy-no older than 6 weeks old-fell to them.
Aside from a few minor. wounds on his head, the puppy was surprisingly unhurt. The workers quickly brought him to a medical clinic, and from there, the puppy found his way into the care of the Austin Animal Center. "We don’t know where he came, from-whether he was born as a stray（流浪狗）or whether he was in a home and got out, ” Olohan, communications director for the Austin Animal Center, explains.
The paratrooper got a new name that came naturally: He would be called Tony Hawk. Considering his tininess-not much bigger than a mouse-Tony Hawk probably seemed like a good idea to a hungry hawk. Tony Hawk’s fears calmed down soon after he found himself on the ground, mostly because he found a foster home to ease him into his new life. In a month or so, he will be looking for a forever home.
Olohan thinks he won’t wait long. "We’ ve had plenty of interest, tons of applications for him,"she says. "He’s certainly not going to have a problem finding a home. "So a tiny puppy without a past found himself free from the claws-thanks to the warm, caring hands that will help him shape a brand-new future.
1. What happened to the little puppy?| A．He fell from a building. | B．He was caught by a hawk. |
| C．He was trapped somewhere. | D．He was seriously wounded. . |
| A．They took him to medical care. | B．They found a foster home for him. |
| C．They protected him from bird attack. | D．They got some information about his past. |
| A．A stray. | B．A mouse. | C．The hawk. | D．The puppy. |
| A．He is very fierce. | B．He will be adopted soon. |
| C．He has adapted to new life. | D．He faces a lot of problems. |
5 . My husband and I used to think we had all we had ever wanted.A beautiful house,three healthy children and one more on the way,two cars,a couple of four-wheelers for entertainment—We really had it all and we loved it. Then,the market turned and my husband's job at a construction company was gone.The company was closing down forever.
We both started looking for jobs right away,but there weren't any to be found.With each passing day we were getting increasingly worried and we continued to work together in order to pull our family through.The more we pulled together,the closer we got.I felt feelings of admiration for my husband that I hadn't felt for years.
That's why it was so hard for me to watch him blame himself for ou present situation.I continually asked him to stop but he seemed to want to punish himself for not having a job.
Finally,one afternoon I pulled him aside and said,"We have four healthy children and each other.That's what's important.That makes you a rich man."
"But what if we lose the house?They will hate me—you'll hate me,"he replied.
I smiled at him and put my hands on both sides of his face to make him look me in the eye."No matter where we live I will be happy—as long as I have you,"I smiled again as I realized that I wasn't just saying that.In all the struggling together I had found that deep love for him that I had on the day we said "I do".
I could see his shoulders and neck relaxed.He held me close and we were able to talk and plan and dream together in a way that we hadn't for quite some time.It was a turning point for us as a couple and a family.
We are still struggling for our better life,but I consider us well-off because we have something that money can't buy and no one can take away from us.
1. We know from the story that .| A．they both found good jobs at last |
| B．her husband was out of work for his not working hard |
| C．both of them felt anxious about their unemployment |
| D．they didn't love each other any longer after they got married |
| A．her husband worked harder for being closer |
| B．they had closer affection as they struggled together |
| C．their house was closer to the company than before |
| D．they were closer to another employment as time went by |
| A．Hard but warm. | B．Wealthy but annoying. |
| C．Hard and disturbing. | D．Comfortable and admiring. |
| A．Better Life Comes | B．Hard Time Goes |
| C．We Have It All | D．We Lose It All |
6 . The word "OK" is the most frequently spoken all-purpose expression on the planet—and it's turning 176 years old on March 23,2015.The term was born during a 19th-century abbreviation（缩写）craze and went on to international fame with its own hand gesture.
Last year,Henry Nass,a 64-year-old retired English teacher,a New Yorker had spent the last few weeks handing out cards championing "Global OK Day" in advance of the coming anniversary.
"No matter where people are from they use the word 'OK,'but they don't know where it comes from,"says Nass. "The problem is because it's just,you know,OK."
The word is OK,perhaps,but its history is definitely better than average.Late etymologist Allen Walker Read traced the two-letter word to 1839,when editors at the Boston Morning Post signed off on articles as “all correct” with a simple word "OK".
The word made it into print on March 23 of that year,during an article against a rival editor in Providence who had stated wrongly that a band of Bostonians heading to New York would pass through the Rhode Island capital.
"We said not a word about our team passing 'through the city' of Providence,"the Morning Post reported."O.K.—all correct."
The humor of the Providence-Boston joke has been lost to history—but the word OK took off from there,soon connoting（隐含）agreement,acceptance,averageness,quality or likability.
By 1840,it served as a slogan for President Martin Van Buren's unsuccessful reelection campaign."Old Kinderhook is OK,"posters stated,a reference to the eighth president's birthplace and his supporters’ belief in his satisfactory performance.
1. Why did Henry Nass hand out cards?| A．To let people understand the history of the word "OK". |
| B．To call on people to use the word "OK" properly. |
| C．To appeal to people to celebrate OK Day. |
| D．To attract people's attention. |
| A．The history of the word "OK" is known to average people. |
| B．The history of the word "OK" is unfamiliar to people. |
| C．People frequently use the word "OK" in history. |
| D．People are fond of the word "OK" in history. |
| A．Got off | B．Set up |
| C．Moved off | D．Become popular |
| A．the name | B．the birthplace |
| C．the policy | D．the belief |
