1 . There’s a useful concept from psychology that helps explain why good people do things that harm the environment: the false consensus (共识) effect. That’s where we overvalue how acceptable and widespread our own behavior is in society. Put simply, if you’re doing something (even if you secretly know you probably shouldn’t), you’re more likely to think plenty of other people do it too. What’s more, you likely overestimate how much other people think that behavior is broadly OK.
This bias (偏见) allows people to justify socially unacceptable or illegal behaviors. Researchers have observed the false consensus effect in drug use and illegal hunting. More recently, conservationists are beginning to reveal how this effect contributes to environmental damage.
In Australia, people who admitted poaching (偷猎) thought it was much more widespread in society than it really was, and had higher estimates than fishers who obeyed the law. They also believed others viewed poaching as socially tolerable; however, in reality, more than 90% of fishers took the opposite stand on this. The false consensus effect has also shown up in studies examining support for nuclear energy and offshore wind farms.
Just as concepts from psychology can help explain some forms of environmental damage, so too can they help solve it. For example, research shows people are more likely to litter in areas where there’s already a lot of trash thrown around; so making sure the ground around a bin is not covered in rubbish may help.
Factual information on how other people think and behave can be very powerful. Energy companies have substantially reduced energy consumption simply by showing people their difference in electricity use compared to their neighbors. Encouragingly, stimulating people’s natural desire for social position has also been successful in getting people to “go green to be seen”, or to publicly purchase eco-friendly products.
As the research evidence shows, social standards can be a powerful force in encouraging and popularizing environmentally friendly behaviors. Perhaps you can do your bit by sharing this article!
1. Which example best illustrates the false consensus effect?| A．A student spends long hours surfing the Internet. |
| B．A blogger assumes many people dislike his posts. |
| C．A smoker believes people generally approve of smoking. |
| D．A driver frequently parks illegally in public places. |
| A．It is contradictory. | B．It is impractical. |
| C．It is widespread. | D．It is unacceptable. |
| A．Develop green habits for better health. |
| B．Choose green items that are easy to spot in stores. |
| C．Join green movements for personal fulfillment. |
| D．Make green choices that others can perceive. |
| A．Justify social standards. | B．Publicize sustainable practices. |
| C．Encourage technological innovations. | D．Highlight personal responsibilities. |
2 . Workers at the National Galleries of Scotland recently experienced quite a surprise after they X-rayed a painting by Vincent van Gogh. Hidden on the back of the painting Head of a Peasant Woman, which Van Gogh completed in 1885, was a self-portrait (自画像) of the Dutch painter. No one had ever found it.
The hidden self-portrait had been covered by glue and cardboard that had been attached to the back of the painting. “It was absolutely exciting,” Lesley Stevenson, the museum’s worker, said about the discovery. “We weren’t expecting much of the little painting when we performed the scans,” she said. But museum experts quickly changed their expectations when they looked at the X-rays. “We didn’t see much of the peasant woman, but we saw the lead white that Van Gogh used for his face showing up after the X-ray went through the cardboard,” she added.
Van Gogh painted Head of a Peasant Woman as part of a series of works focused on the working-class residents of Nuenen, a small farming community in the southern part of the Netherlands where he lived briefly in the 1880s. The woman in the painting is Gordina de Groot, a farm worker. She wears a white headpiece. In a letter that Van Gogh penned about the series in 1885 to Anton Kerssemakers, a friend, he described his excitement at his working-class subjects. “I’m working with great pleasure these days, for I would rather paint people than paint anything else,” he wrote.
Van Gogh also loved creating self-portraits, producing about 20 paintings of himself by the end of his life while he was living in Paris. Recreating his own image was a cheap way for him to practice portraiture as he didn’t have to spend money hiring models, according to a report.
Art historians at the National Galleries hope that the hidden self-portrait may help us understand the life of the artist. The museum is currently considering how to best remove the unwanted protective materials without harming the painting.
1. What can be learned about the self-portrait on the back of the painting?| A．It isn’t in very good condition. | B．It describes a well-known woman. |
| C．It wasn’t known to exist for a long time. | D．It was sold to another artist by Van Gogh. |
| A．It was a wonderful surprise. | B．It failed to meet her expectations. |
| C．It was the result of her great efforts. | D．It deepened her understanding of Van Gogh’s life. |
| A．He was encouraged to try different subjects. |
| B．He was glad to find his love for figure paintings. |
| C．He was attracted by the lifestyle of people in Nuenen. |
| D．He wanted to improve the living conditions of the farmers. |
| A．X-rays can do harm to artworks |
| B．Van Gogh sent a secret message to his friend |
| C．Modern technology has a great influence on art |
| D．Van Gogh’s hidden self-portrait draws public attention |
3 . When my father and I traveled to Paris, Notre Dame was our first stop. But when we arrived at Notre Dame, we saw a long line outside it. Even so, we didn’t want to
Immersed in the beautiful natural scenery, we wanted to take some
Trying to get the perfect shot, he kept changing the
At that point, I was so angry that I
Later, my father
| A．set out | B．miss out | C．put aside | D．come about |
| A．memorable | B．adorable | C．available | D．remarkable |
| A．marched | B．headed | C．crashed | D．wandered |
| A．angel | B．eagle | C．angle | D．edge |
| A．signposts | B．laps | C．shots | D．films |
| A．shallow | B．visible | C．ridiculous | D．clear |
| A．attempted | B．planned | C．expected | D．hesitated |
| A．awkward | B．satisfied | C．indifferent | D．disgusting |
| A．purpose | B．target | C．agent | D．clerk |
| A．complained | B．claimed | C．explained | D．argued |
| A．forgivable | B．necessary | C．unusual | D．convenient |
| A．ignore | B．judge | C．pause | D．reject |
| A．negative | B．harmless | C．critical | D．genuine |
| A．Apparently | B．Luckily | C．Gradually | D．Eventually |
| A．banana | B．object | C．item | D．apple |
4 . When you are asked to draw a picture, in spite of your best effort, you can’t make it look like the model shown. Then you may have thought, “I don’t have a creative bone in my body.”
According to some scientists, who for the past 20 years have studied the complex subject of creativity through a series of research strictly, you are underrating yourself. Da Vinci you may never be, but when it comes to creativity, we are all somewhat blessed. It’s learning to develop this unique tool of extraordinary productivity, and then applying it in everything you do, that counts to tell you from figures like Da Vinci.
“Even if we don’t have the good fortune to discover a new chemical element or write a great story, the love of the creative process for its own sake is available to all,” says Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in Creativity: Flow and Psychology of Discovery and Invention.
Most people believe the ability of creativity has been awarded to those considered to have special talent. We look upon these “creative geniuses”, as we often call them, with respect and a bit of envy. Their abilities, most people assume, are due to good genes, or, as if in Greek mythology, from some kind of god’s inspiration.
There is no argument that the world is never short of highly talented and creative people. They are masters of their trades and stand heads-and-shoulders above common people, making new pathways for others to follow, and providing greater context and understanding of our world. It could be said that without creativity humanity would not evolve so rapidly.
But like a publicly recognized creative baseball player who possesses his skill through years of continuous training, foregoing other pursuits for the only passion, people who show the slightest unwillingness for challenging labor are bound to witness their boasted (吹嘘的) ability disappear.
After closely studying 91 creative and influential people, including novelists, playwrights, composers, musicians and scientists, Csikszentmihalyi concludes that no one would ignore the sweat they shed and their almost crazy willingness to follow their creative effort to the very end, wherever that may be. These are the very things we all can master, so long as we’d like to.
1. It’s widely believed that creativity comes from_________.| A．the inborn genes or relevant gifts |
| B．the tool we learn from masters like Da Vinci |
| C．some kind of god from Greek |
| D．good training people receive from artistic classes |
| A．Creativity lies in devotion and effort. |
| B．The field of baseball requires more gifts than hard work. |
| C．People’s admiration of geniuses makes humanity develop quickly. |
| D．People don’t think that the world is never short of highly talented people. |
| A．referring to | B．combining | C．giving up | D．extending |
| A．Ordinary people’s unwillingness to follow the examples of creative ones. |
| B．The reasons for the success of those possessing creativity. |
| C．Creative people view things differently from ordinary people. |
| D．People’s misunderstanding of creativity and its true nature. |
内容包括：1.时间地点；2.展览内容；3.适当的开头和结尾。
注意：写作词数应为120左右。
Dear Harry,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
6 . Several years ago, a teacher was hired and sent to visit children who were patients in a city hospital. Her job was to teach them with their schoolwork so they wouldn’t be too far
One day, this teacher received a call
It wasn’t until the visiting teacher got outside the boy’s room that she
Finally she was able to stammer out (结结巴巴地说).“I’m the special visiting hospital teacher, and your teacher
The next morning when she returned, one of the nurses asked her, “What did you do to that Boy?”
Before she could finish her apology, the nurse
| A．off | B．away | C．behind | D．apart |
| A．insisting | B．requesting | C．urging | D．advising |
| A．concerned | B．grateful | C．proud | D．addicted |
| A．appreciated | B．recognized | C．realized | D．observed |
| A．hardly | B．narrowly | C．slightly | D．terribly |
| A．pain | B．comfort | C．joy | D．stress |
| A．allowed | B．forced | C．preferred | D．sent |
| A．successful | B．entertaining | C．professional | D．crucial |
| A．recommended | B．forgave | C．interrupted | D．quit |
| A．curious | B．worried | C．nervous | D．confused |
| A．impression | B．awareness | C．gratitude | D．attitude |
| A．in case | B．so that | C．even though | D．as though |
| A．explained | B．protested | C．referred | D．delivered |
| A．interest | B．hope | C．spirit | D．courage |
| A．dying | B．inspiring | C．competing | D．desiring |
“Do you mind if I join you?” I asked the two women seated at the table. As a new employee, I felt awkward about approaching them, but there were no other seats in the dining hall. Then I introduced myself and sat down. The two women nodded to me and continued chatting.
While eating my lunch, suddenly I was shocked by one of the women’s words. She said, “My family has decided to give up our dog and let her live on her own. She just can’t fit into our family. And no one wants her.”
Coming from a family whose home could be a petting zoo, I was shocked to think that people could be so heartless. Feeling concerned about the dog, I asked my new co-worker a few questions about the dog. She shared that the dog’s name was Lady. She had trained as a guide dog for the blind, but she failed her final test because she wanted too many hugs after completing her tasks.
I asked the woman to give me some time to contact my mom as we would consider adopting her. Since my mom had a kind heart, I knew she would agree and that Lady would have a home with us. After work, I drove to pick up Lady. An old woman greeted me at the door, leading me to the kitchen. There sat this beautiful but very thin dog, lying in the corner and licking (舔) her right paw. “She did that to herself,” the woman said as she pointed to the injured paw. She continued, “That dog is hopeless!” The woman then took a broom and forced Lady to stand with the broom. There were no goodbyes from this family, just a sense of relief because Lady was no longer their problem.
I sat on the sidewalk with her and introduced myself. For me, it was love at first sight. She had a beautiful face, but the saddest eyes. “Lady,” I said. “I’m taking you to your new home. And I promise you that my family will always love you. Please give us a chance.” I helped Lady get into my car, and our new journey began.
Paragraph 1:As I pulled into our driveway, my mom was waiting with open arms and delicious dog treats.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Paragraph 2:
One day, my mom did something magic which made Lady start to open her heart.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. 选择一部你喜欢的电影；
2. 简单描述电影情节；
3. 你对影片的评价及感悟。
注意：1.词数100词左右；2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
My Favorite Movie
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________9 . Electrically powered vertical-take-off-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft—flying cars are an idea whose time has not quite yet come, but is fast approaching. Many firms are offering various designs. None of these, however, will be Jetson-like family flying cars. Pivotal, based in Silicon Valley, by contrast has crafted something that people can purchase and pilot themselves. Helix is a single-seat vehicle, so “flying motorbike” might be more accurate. From next year, many people will be able to order one for personal use, though they will not be able to take delivery until June.
Marcus Leng founded Pivotal in 2011, and some back-of-the-envelope calculations he made suggested that electric lift-off of a human-carrying craft, using motors powered by the lithium-ion batteries ought to work. He thus built a model and flew it in the garden of his house in Warkworth, Ontario.
Now, after ameliorating it, the firm thinks it has something marketable. The aircraft has, nevertheless, changed little in its fundamentals over the years. It has two pairs of wings and eight propellers (螺旋桨), making it slightly resemble a squashed “H” when seen in the sky from below. And there is no undercarriage. Instead, its belly is curved in a way similar to a humpback whale’s, so it rocks to stability after landing.
Pilot’s licence or not, buyers will still need some training to fly a Helix. Pivotal insists on this. For the same reason, the craft’s software will stop the pilot doing anything that does not fit its safety rules. And if, despite this, something does go wrong, it is fitted with a parachute（降落伞）.
The Helix’s top speed is a respectable 100 kph, but its range is only 30 km. And refueling it is a bit of a pain. Filling up from the mains takes four and a half hours, though a special high-power system similar to those employed for electric cars can bring that down to 75 minutes. While Helix still doesn’t compare to the flying car from the Jetsons, it could be a step forward.
1. What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?| A．Helix has been used in Warkworth widely. |
| B．Flying cars won’t be allowed for personal use. |
| C．Leng was the first person to design flying cars. |
| D．Helix is only suitable for one person to drive. |
| A．Testing. | B．Driving. | C．Improving. | D．Repairing. |
| A．Helix’s relative devices. | B．Helix’s training process. |
| C．Helix’s safety measures. | D．Helix’s working principle. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Objective. | C．Indifferent. | D．Cautious. |
10 . Humans have sailed the oceans’ surfaces for millennia, but their depths remain effectively uncharted. Only about a quarter of the seafloor has been mapped at high resolution. Maps of most regions display only approximate depths and often miss entire underwater mountains or canyons (峡谷).
So researchers have introduced some deep-diving experts: Elephant Seals. Scientists have been placing trackers on them around Antarctica for years, gathering data on ocean temperature. For a new study, the researchers compared these dives’ location and depth data with some of the less detailed seafloor maps. They spotted places where the seals dove deeper than should have been possible according to the maps meaning the existing depth estimates were inaccurate.
In eastern Antarctica’s Vincennes Bay, the diving seals helped the scientists find a large, hidden underwater canyon of more than a mile in depth. An Australian research ship called the RSV Nuyina later measured the canyon’s exact depth using sonar (纳),and the researchers have proposed naming their find the Mirounga-Nuyina Canyon — honoring both the ship and the involved Elephant Seals, genus Mirounga.
But seals can’t chart the entire ocean floor. The trackers used in the study could pinpoint a seal’s geographical location only within about 1.5 miles, which allows for useful but not exactly high-resolution data. Plus, because the seals don’t always dive to the bottom of the ocean, they can reveal only where the bottom is deeper than in existing maps- not shallower. Deep-sea research experts suggest improving on these data by using more precise GPS trackers and analyzing the seals’ diving patterns to determine whether they have reached the seafloor or simply stopped going down.
The potential use of the current seal-dive data is to gather information about the deep ocean around Antarctica, specifically regarding the location and depth of sea-floor canyons. This data can be valuable for predicting how Antarctica’s ice will melt. By understanding the presence and characteristics of these canyons, scientists can better assess how warmer water from the deep ocean flows towards the ice along the continent’s coast, This knowledge is crucial for accurately modeling and predicting the future behavior of Antarctica’s ice sheets and their contribution to sea-level rise.
1. How did the researchers find out the depth inaccuracies?| A．By gathering temperature data. |
| B．With the help of seals’ diving. |
| C．By improving resolution of maps. |
| D．With the trackers placed on canyons. |
| A．To provide more reference data. | B．To introduce a new topic. |
| C．To give supporting evidence. | D．To make a comparison. |
| A．Researchers can assess ocean features. |
| B．Data can be used to track ice location. |
| C．Underwater flow can be controlled. |
| D．Scientists can monitor ice melting. |
| A．Seals assist charting ocean floor. |
| B．Seals advance GPS trackers’ precision. |
| C．Scientists draw inspiration from seals. |
| D．Scientists uncover seals’ diving patterns. |
