1 . Swap, Don’t shop!
You keep hearing about recycling, right? But it doesn’t end with bottles, cans, and paper. Clothing takes a huge amount of natural resources(资源)to make, and buying loads of new clothing(or throwing out old clothing)is not healthy for the environment. So what to do with all those perfectly-good-but-you’re-maybe-a-little-sick-of-them clothes piled on your bedroom floor?
A successful swap depends on the selection of clothes, the organization of the event, and, obviously, how much fun is had. It’s really easy to do! Here are a few pointers.
●Invite 5—10 people so you have a nice selection.
●
●Put different types of clothing on different surfaces in the room.
●Set a starting time. Maybe you say “go,” or turn on a certain song, or whatever.
A.Less people than that |
B.Hold a clothing swap |
C.If two people are competing |
D.Just keep music playing throughout |
E.Donate whatever clothes are left over |
F.Have everyone put their clothes in the right spots |
G.Tell everyone to bring clean clothes in good condition |
2 . You’ve got mail…and it’s a postcard
Paulo Magalhaes, a 34-year-old Portuguese computer engineer, loves to open his mailbox and find a brightly colored picture of Rome’s Colosseum. Or Africa’s Victoria Falls. Or China’s Great Wall.
“I often send postcards to family and friends.” he says to China Daily, “but you can imagine that after a while, you never receive as many as you send, and you realize that not everyone is into it.
Today his hobby has developed into the website postcrossing.com, a social network that has grown to 575,217 registered users in 214 countries and regions since he started it 10 years ago.
Language is certainly a barrier for many people. For postcrossing to work worldwide, a common communication language is needed so that everyone can understand each other. As cool as it may be to receive a postcard written in Chinese, the concept doesn’t work if one doesn’t understand it.
“Many people in China have limited exposure to English.
A.And that’s totally fine. |
B.That makes it extra hard to learn and practice it. |
C.He likes to think of sending postcards as a family-friendly hobby. |
D.Many love to make a connection with someone from across the world. |
E.On August 5, the number of postcards exchanged by members topped 31 million. |
F.Similarly, if you speak only Chinese, receiving a card in Swedish takes part of the fun away. |
G.In short, he loves postcards, and the excitement of getting a hand-written note from someone far away. |
3 . Self-esteem is the ruling view you have of yourself. This includes your beliefs about your inner qualities and how you think others see you.
People with healthy self-esteem don't need to boast about themselves to others. People with low self-esteem may tell you how much everyone loves them, what a great job they do at work, and how amazing they are at pretty everything under the sun even though they really wonder if it's true. People may see them as obnoxious or “full of themselves”.
If you're starting to think you may have low self-esteem, you can work on the way you talk to yourself. When you turn off negative self-talk, you can open the floor to positive reinforcements and access the courage to show different sides of yourself. It isn't going to feel good at first, though. Keep going until it becomes less and less and maybe even a few awkward laughs in the mirror may help.
However, in serious cases of low or even non-existent self-esteem, you may want to call in a professional or a specialist. Good mental health is important, and professionals doing psychotherapy do not pass judgement or give corrections.
A.Self-esteem is not always rooted in reality, though. |
B.You have the power to shape a new self-perception. |
C.This encourages you to speak openly without worry. |
D.The real test of character is whether they can learn from their mistakes. |
E.Self-esteem refers to a person's overall sense of his or her value or worth. |
F.People with a healthy level of self-esteem present themselves with a casual confidence. |
G.With some practice and persistence, you will win this internal struggle to see your self-worth. |
4 . Your emotion helps you make sense of the world. At the core of an emotion is a subjective experience of the valence of it — what emotion scientists call “affect” (情感). Generally speaking, affect is what we are most focused on. Do you have chocolate cake in front of you? That’s good! Do you see a spider on the table! That’s bad!
Your affective reactions tell you which experiences are desirable, and which aren’t, but the total emotional experience includes all you do and think. You can learn a lot by observing and describing them. You can also learn a lot by appreciating their secret life.
The problem is: the affective features of emotions tend to dominate. Our subjective valence of emotion is almost all we can see. When emotions are only about what is pleasant or unpleasant in subjective experience right now, the more important features of emotion disappear.
If you can slow down and expand; if you stop running or clinging (沉浸其中) and adopt a sense of curiosity, emotions become more subtle and different. When fear comes up, don’t walk away so that fear dissipates. Instead, stay. Allow yourself to feel the nervousness, the sweating, and everything else that comes along with it. It is one of the hardest things to do in life, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. If you run, you are telling basic parts of your brain, “I guess this threat really was real. I better stay away from it.” You are training yourself to fear, regardless of that situation. If you cling, you are saying, “Escape from this emotion is a threat”, and since it is not a happy experience, happiness slips through your hands like sand.
Note that you can not fool yourself. Just allow the full emotion. You will never enter into their secret life until you stop running or clinging. To control your life, you need to actively train your emotions to be your ally (同盟). Observe. Describe. Appreciate. Do that and you may find you have allies for healthy living that were there all along.
1. Why does the author mention “chocolate cake” and “spider” in paragraph 1?A.To explain the complex response of emotions. |
B.To show the subjective experience of emotions. |
C.To indicate the goodness and badness of the world. |
D.To emphasize the significance of emotions in life. |
A.The present feelings are less obvious. |
B.The subjective emotions are less powerful. |
C.The overall picture of emotions is easier to ignore. |
D.The observation and description of emotions are easier. |
A.Deepens. | B.Spreads. | C.Disappears. | D.Sticks. |
A.The secret of emotions. | B.The subjective experience. |
C.The importance of allies in life. | D.Magical functions of emotions. |
5 . In some ways, it is surprising that languages change. After all, they are passed down through the generations reliably enough for parents and children to communicate with each other.
Languages change for a variety of reasons. Large-scale shifts often occur in response to social, economic, and political pressures, as there are many examples of language change fueled by invasions, colonization, and migration.
A.Changes in sound are somewhat harder to document but just as interesting. |
B.Yet linguists find that all living languages change over time — at different rates though. |
C.As long as people are using a language, that language will undergo some change. |
D.All natural languages change, and language change affects all areas of language use. |
E.The three main areas of language that change over time are vocabulary, sentence structure, and pronunciation. |
F.Even without these kinds of influences, a language can change dramatically if enough users adopt a new way of speaking. |
G.The vocabulary and phrases people use depend on where they live, their age, education level, social status and other factors. |
6 . Calendars are for managing your time. They work overtime to keep the messiness of human life confined into neat little grids, squeezing our lives into seconds, minutes and hours. I appreciate a calendar’s determined efforts to manage time.
You start by creating a wish list for your ideal life. The idea is to be as specific as possible. You then pick the one goal that would have the biggest positive impact. You break that goal down into smaller tasks, and then prioritize them.
Planning helps me ensure that I’m not a passenger at the mercy of my calendar, but rather driving toward a destination that I choose.
A.Then, add those tasks to the calendar. |
B.There’s no pressure to make it perfect. |
C.But planners are for dreaming without limits. |
D.It’s easy to appreciate calendars for their usefulness. |
E.Using a paper planner brings me both joy and a sense of calm. |
F.It’s an important ritual (仪式) that deserves weight and ceremony. |
G.After all, our lives are the sum of how we spend our time and what we pay attention to. |
7 . As a child, I was proud of my southern origin. My own voice reflected my family’s past and present-part northern Mississippi, part Tennessee, all southern. There was no sound I loved more than my grandmother’s accent: thick, sweet, warm.
While growing up, I began to realize outside of our region, southerners were often dismissed as uncultured and ignorant. I was ready to leave behind my tiny town in West Tennessee, starting a new life and jumping at big chances in some far-off cities. In that embarrassing space between “teen” and “adult”, my accent was a symbol of everything I thought I hated about my life in the rural South. I feared it would disqualify me from being a noted magazine writer. I would have to talk less “country”. So I killed a piece of myself. I’m ashamed of it, but I’m more ashamed that I tried to kill that part of someone else-change Emily’s accent.
I met Emily in college. She was determined to work for the student newspaper, which was where I spent most of my waking hours, and we became friends. She, unlike me, accepted her roots. Early in our friendship, her mother asked where I was from, assuming it was somewhere up north. Then I felt my efforts paid off and even wanted to ignore the mistake.
Emily is two years younger and she cared about my opinion. I advised her to be more like me and hide her signature Manchester accent. I stressed that throughout our college years, often by making fun of her vowel (元音) sounds. I told myself I was helping her achieve her dream of working as a reporter. Now, I see that it was actually about justifying my hiding part of myself.
Grandma Carolyn used to tell me, “Girl, don’t forget where you come from.” Now I truly understand that. Many things have faded from memory, but this sticks in my mind with uncomfortable clarity. Now that I am grown and have left the South, it’s important to me.
1. What made the author want to leave her hometown?A.Appeal of convenience in cities. |
B.Her dream of becoming a writer. |
C.Outside prejudice against southerners. |
D.Her desire for the northern accent. |
A.Upset. | B.Pleased. | C.Ashamed. | D.Surprised. |
A.To prove herself right. | B.To help Emily be a reporter. |
C.To make herself influential. | D.To protect Emily’s self-dignity. |
A.Stay true to your roots. | B.Never do things by halves. |
C.Hold on to your dreams. | D.Never judge a person by his accent. |
8 . How to Feel Connected
It's easy to feel disconnected from what is going on around you in today's fast-paced world.
Consider why you feel disconnected. Knowing what is making you feel disconnected can help you choose the best ways to address it.
Interact with people in person. Technology is a great way to stay in touch, but sometimes you need to spend time with other people in person.
Your loved ones could feel shy, so you may never know how to improve your relationship unless you ask the right questions. Asking them to open the doors can give you some insight on what you can do. Learning this information can help to strengthen your bond.
Show your commitment to them. Simply showing up and being there for your loved ones says a lot about how much you value your relationships. Putting in the time shows them that you are committed and want to stay connected.
Show appreciation. A simple “thank you” goes a very long way. Unfortunately, it is something that people who are close often take for granted. Telling someone you appreciate their time, love, and efforts can strengthen your bond and help you to become more connected.
A.Ask others what they need from you. |
B.Sometimes you can feel isolated and distant from the ones you love. |
C.Be brave to express your love. |
D.Reach out to people to schedule a time to get together. |
E.Attending family events, or simply visiting someone once a week can help to strengthen your relationship and keep it strong. |
F.Targeting your efforts toward those issues allows you to close that distance more effectively. |
G.You can have a gift delivered to friends on special occasions. |
The city of Zibo has never seen so many visitors.
As the sun begins to set, the aroma of sizzling meat falls the air and draws in more
The city was barely known by outsiders
Zibo- style barbecue’s classic three-piece set contains roast lamb, green onions, and nan bread, which,
Behind Zibo’s sudden fame
To promote Zibo-style barbecue, Zibo has launched two dozen “special barbecue trains,” where local tourism officials would serve tourists
10 . Every language and culture has curse words (脏话). What gives a curse word its power is partly its meaning and partly its sound. “In English, for example, curse words tend to contain a high percentage of plosive sounds—including P, T and K,” said Ryan McKay, a psychologist at University of London.
Dr. McKay teamed up with his colleague Shiri Lev-Ari to learn whether this familiar pattern went beyond English. They wondered whether it might even represent what’s called sound symbolism. Sound symbolism is when a word sounds like what it means.
The researchers first asked fluent speakers of Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Korean and Russian to list the most vulgar (粗俗的) words they could think of. Once they’d made a list of each language’s most frequently used curse words, the researchers compared these with neutral words from the same language. In these languages, they didn’t find the plosive sounds that seem common in English curse words. “Instead, we found that the vulgar words were defined by what they lacked: the approximant sounds that include letters I, L, R, W and Y, ”Dr. Lev-Ari said.
Next, the scientists invited 215 native speakers of six languages: Arabic, Chinese, Finnish, French, German and Spanish. The participants listened to pairs of words in a language they didn’t speak, and guessed which word in each pair was offensive. In reality, all the words were invented. For example, the researchers started with the Albanian word “zog, ” for “bird, ”and created the pair of fake words “yog" and “tsog. ”Participants were more likely to guess that words without approximants, such as “tsog, ” were curses.
Finally, the researchers combed through the dictionary for English curse words and their cleaned-up versions. Once again, the clean versions included more of the sounds I, L, R, W and Y.
A 20th-century linguistic (语言学的)principle claimed that the sounds of words were arbitrary: Any word could have any meaning. With curse words, though, as in other cases of sound symbolism, “the sounds themselves seem to carry meaning, ”said Lev-Ari. “That’s a new thing, ”said linguist Benjamin Bergen. “Curse words across languages, unrelated to each other, may pattern similarly. ”He also pointed out, to make sure the pattern of approximants missing from curses isn’t an accident, it would be nice to find it in an even larger sample of languages.
1. What is the purpose of McKay and Lev-Ari’s research?A.To analyze a phenomenon. | B.To confirm an assumption. |
C.To explain a definition. | D.To challenge a theory. |
A.To decide which curse words are used more frequently. |
B.To make up new curse words from real words. |
C.To guess a word’s offensiveness according to its sound. |
D.To identify the approximants in curse words. |
A.Tusck | B.Sola | C.Darn | D.Biach |
A.The old linguistic principle of sounds and meanings is wrong. |
B.In sound symbolism, a word’s sound represents its meaning. |
C.The research reveals the similarities between different languages. |
D.The result of the research is not fully accepted by scientists. |