1 . Consider the following statement: “My husband bought me a pink Lamborghini...” The correct way to finish the sentence, according to some, is not showing appreciation or acting excited, but to complain about the pricy gift. If you say, “The color is so ugly, men have such bad taste!” Congratulations, you have mastered the “Versailles (凡尔赛) literature.”
The term has nothing to do with the French palace nor with literature. It came from the Japanese manga series “The Rose of Versailles” and was coined by a Chinese influencer earlier this year. This new kind of bragging (吹嘘) is called humblebragging, the psychology behind which is to be recognized for one's successes and be liked by others at the same time. “The humblebragger recognizes that it's hard to be liked and be a showoff at the same time,” said psychologist Dr. Susan KraussWhitbourne at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
In an article titled “Why people hate humblebragging” published in Psychology Today, Whitbourne noted that the humblebrag is a “strategy in pursuit of respect” because it draws attention to one's accomplishments, but in a roundabout (迂回的) fashion.
However, studies on social media users show that humblebragging, as a self-promotion strategy does not work. In the essay, “Humblebragging: A distinct-and ineffective-self-presentation strategy,” researcher Ovul Sezer concluded from his research that humblebraggers are perceived more negatively than straight braggers due to the former's insincerity. “The critical factor telling these strategies was sincerity. People don't like braggers, but they at least see them as more sincere than humblebraggers.”
“So, next time if you hear ‘My husband bought me a pink Lamborghini. The color is so ugly, men have such bad taste!’. Just pretend you don’t get whatever it is they try to show off.” a Zhihu user advised others on how to respond to a “pretentious narcissist”, “Respond with genuine sympathy for their complaint.”
1. Which of the following can replace the example in Paragraph 1?A.“I didn’t even have one look at my paper. I’m so over.” |
B.“I have eaten nothing today, but I'm heavier than yesterday.” |
C.“My husband bought me another Chanel purse. I love it so much.” |
D.“I don’t even remember buying a house. My memory is really failing with age.” |
A.Because they're really successful. |
B.Because they want to show their complaint. |
C.Because they want to be liked while bragging. |
D.Because they always want to be the center of the topic. |
A.Humblebraggers are dishonest |
B.Straight braggers are popular with us. |
C.Straight braggers are cleverer than humblebraggers. |
D.Humblebraggers' insincerity accounts for their unpopularity. |
A.How to avoid humblebragging. | B.Who might be a humblebragger. |
C.How to fight a humblebragger back. | D.What might hurt a humblebragger. |
2 . More than one-third of the world’s food is wasted or thrown away, most of which ends up in landfills, producing very large amounts of planet-warming greenhouse gases. Now, many studies show that it is becoming harder to grow enough food to feed an increasing population due to climate change and soil degradation.
But one of the most promising and simplest solutions lies in the problem itself: this wasted food — if composted (堆肥) — could slow climate change and improve soil quality. Higher-quality soil also continues to absorb more carbon from the atmosphere, helping to improve plants and contributing further to fighting climate change. Returning one ton of organic matter to each hectare of soil would increase the production of cereal crops each year in Africa, Asia and South America by millions of tons.
While it is true that people can compost in their yards, community gardens, or even on their kitchen counters, larger-scale efforts, including infrastructure (基础设施) and incentives (激励) for consumers, would take it to the next level. Imagine if consumers could just leave unwanted food in a roadside bin for pickup, or drop it off at a local store, earning a few cents a bucket, just like what has been offered for recycling bottles or newspapers.
Moreover, in the case of composting, the payment incentive system would be sustainable because the end-product of compost can be sold to farmers, making it an economically workable model, something that is often lacking in recycling, especially for certain materials, like many types of plastics.
Eventually, more widespread composting of food would pave the way for solutions to additional waste challenges, such as the disposal of packaging and clothing. This will have other positive effects as well; if more consumers compost, companies will be more inspired to make and use compostable packaging, clothing, and other products. While more compostable items are starting to emerge today, additional composting will further drive demand and innovation, and offer a game-changing solution for the planet.
1. What is paragraph 1 mainly about?A.The uneven distribution of food around the world. |
B.The burden of population growth on the planet. |
C.The urgency of properly dealing with wasted food. |
D.The great impact of climate change on food. |
A.A good system is needed to carry out it effectively. |
B.It would take a long term to have an effect. |
C.It is only workable on a small scale. |
D.It may raise people’s awareness of reducing food waste. |
A.It is highly profitable. |
B.It is easy to carry out. |
C.It is a sustainable economic cycle pattern. |
D.It is more effective than other recycling systems. |
A.How Wasted Food Could Be Reduced |
B.How Wasted Food Could Save the Planet |
C.How Wasted Food Could Impact Humans |
D.How Wasted Food Could Become a Business |
3 . 2024 Illustration Competition
Enter the competition most respected and admired in the industry for creativity in illustration, the Communication Arts Illustration Competition. Selected by distinguished professionals, the winning entries will be distributed worldwide in the Communication Arts Illustration Annual and on commarts.com, ensuring important exposure of the creations. Each winner will receive a professionalized Award of Excellence, made from solid aluminum, and an award certificate. Communication Art’s Award of Excellence is one of the most desired awards. If chosen, winning places you in the highest ranks of your profession.
What To Enter With
Any illustration first published or produced from Jan. 2023 to Jan. 2024 is qualified. Entries may originate from any country. Descriptions in English are necessary for the judges to read.
Entries Can Be Submitted In The Following Formats
Digital Images: RGB images in JPG format with a maximum file size of 2 MB. GIF images may be livelier, but would be turned down, and so would the PNG ones.
Motion Entries: In MOV, MP4 or MPG format, with a maximum file size of 500 MB.
Illustration Competition Categories & Entry Fees
Category | Single illustration | Series of illustrations |
Books (covers, jackets, etc.) | $ 40 | $ 80 (limit of 5) |
Motion (media for films, videos, etc.) | $ 90 | $ 180 (limit of 3) |
Student Work | $ 20 (Image) $ 45 (Video) | $ 40 (Images, limit of 5) $ 90 (Video, limit of 3) |
For more categories, please download the category PDF.
Late Fees
Entries must be registered no later than Jan. 13, 2024. Entries registered after that date will be charged a fee of $10 each. No entries can be registered after Jan. 27, 2024.
1. What will the winner gain?A.A personalized award certificate. | B.Wide recognition in the industry. |
C.Exposure to world-famous works. | D.A bonus from Communication Arts. |
A.A student work from Argentina. |
B.A newly produced motion entry. |
C.A PNG image with a file size of 1 MB. |
D.A series for covers of three illustrations. |
A.$ 80. | B.$ 110. | C.$ 150. | D.$ 240. |
1. How does the woman suggest the man get home?
A.By bus. | B.By car. | C.By taxi. |
A.At home. | B.At a bus station. | C.At a restaurant. |
A.Peru. | B.Britain. | C.Mexico. |
6 . Ariel decided to
She was certain that the bird needed medical attention. Ariel put her jacket over the bird’s head to keep it calm, carefully picked it up, and held it in her arms. And then a thought
Her best bet was the rehab center, but that was across the East River and clear on the other side of town. How was she going to
On the subway, no one seemed particularly annoyed by the
Ariel called the rehab center on the way, and Tristan Higgin, a(n)
While recovering, she made a boyfriend at the center — another injured swan. Sadly, even with all that TLC, the swan
A.immerse | B.expose | C.wrap | D.breathe |
A.teased | B.spotted | C.caught | D.hit |
A.wholly | B.literally | C.previously | D.stably |
A.aggressive | B.cautious | C.ambitious | D.abnormal |
A.disgusted | B.informed | C.reminded | D.struck |
A.transport | B.conduct | C.preserve | D.put |
A.Suddenly | B.Immediately | C.Fortunately | D.Normally |
A.lift | B.chance | C.treat | D.habitat |
A.scared | B.hungry | C.fierce | D.feathered |
A.doubted | B.minded | C.noticed | D.preferred |
A.fire-controlling | B.animal-caring | C.forest-protecting | D.nature-loving |
A.director | B.survivor | C.partner | D.rescuer |
A.worms | B.weights | C.plastics | D.facilities |
A.contracted | B.spread | C.controlled | D.resisted |
A.stood up | B.pulled through | C.flew away | D.passed away |
1. 推荐城市;
2. 推荐的原因。
写作要求:
1. 词数 80 词左右;
2.可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
Dear Tom,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
8 . Auri Katariina used to be a service manager at a cleaning company in Finland. To her family and friends’
Auri has always
Since then, Auri has gone as far as France and the UK to help people. She gets
Now, Auri goes to clean homes of
A.embarrassment | B.amusement | C.surprise | D.regret |
A.avoided | B.considered | C.delayed | D.enjoyed |
A.struggling | B.earning | C.wondering | D.paying |
A.ashamed | B.excited | C.hesitant | D.grateful |
A.painted | B.decorated | C.searched | D.cleaned |
A.reward | B.evidence | C.permission | D.assistance |
A.experience | B.furniture | C.change | D.space |
A.arrangements | B.requests | C.comments | D.instructions |
A.oldest | B.biggest | C.closest | D.dirtiest |
A.covered | B.approved | C.planned | D.decreased |
A.In spite of | B.Thanks to | C.Ahead of | D.In addition to |
A.loses | B.keeps | C.wastes | D.charges |
A.guests | B.employers | C.strangers | D.sponsors |
A.content | B.wealth | C.advantage | D.opportunity |
A.supports | B.loves | C.recommends | D.manages |
9 . The history of the school bus can date back to 1886 when the Wayne Works company made horse-drawn carriages (四轮马车) known as “ school wagons” or “kid hacks” in Indiana.
In the early 1900s, the car industry was beginning to develop fast.
In 1927, a man built the first bus that primarily used steel. Before long, Wayne Works introduced the first all-steel school bus body with safety glass windows.
Many new national standards were created, determining everything from seating designs to the famous yellow color that school buses still sport today. The reason why the color was chosen was simple.
A.Horses were easy to control. |
B.Not all chose to paint their buses yellow. |
C.Yellow is quite eye-catching to human beings. |
D.Before then, many children simply walked to school. |
E.Now, school buses have had many more improvements. |
F.Still, parents were increasingly concerned for children’s safety. |
G.This gave Wayne Works a great opportunity to improve its carriages. |
10 . Researchers have tapped the brainwaves of a paralyzed (瘫痪的) man unable to speak and turned what he intended to say into sentences.
The device, created by a team at the University of California, San Francisco, analyses brainwaves to decode (解读) what a person is trying to say and then displays the text on a computer screen. The additional research will take years but the results of the current studies mark an important step toward one day bringing back more natural communication for people who can’t speak because of injuries or illnesses.
The person volunteering to test the device was a man in his late 30s who 15 years ago suffered a brainstem stroke that caused widespread paralysis and robbed him of speech. The researchers placed electrodes (电极) on the surface of the man’s brain, over the area that controls speech. A computer analysed the patterns when he attempted to say common words such as “water” or “good”, eventually becoming able to discern 50 words that could produce more than 1,000 sentences.
Started with such questions as “How are you today?” or “Are you thirsty?”, the device eventually enabled the man to answer “I am very good” or “No, I am not thirsty” - not voicing the words but translating them into text. It takes about three to four seconds for the word to appear on the screen. That’s not nearly as fast as speaking but quicker than tapping out a response.
Harvard neurologists called the work a “pioneering demonstration”. They suggested improvements but said if the technology works out, it eventually could help people with injuries, strokes or illnesses like Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Next steps include ways to improve the device’s speed, accuracy and vocabulary size, and maybe one day it will allow a computer-produced voice rather than display text on a screen while testing a small group of volunteer patients.
1. What is the function of the device?A.To read one’s mind. |
B.To treat brain diseases. |
C.To prevent injuries or illnesses. |
D.To turn spoken words into text. |
A.Create. | B.Recognize. | C.Polish. | D.Choose. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Indifferent. | C.Unclear. | D.Positive. |
A.It might have new functions. |
B.It might suit more patient groups. |
C.It might be promoted and on sale. |
D.It might show text in more languages. |