1 . Students who are better able to understand and manage their emotions effectively, a skill known as emotional intelligence (EI), do better at school than their less-skilled classmates, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
“It’s not enough to be smart and hardworking. Students must also be able to understand and manage their emotions to succeed at school,” said Carolyn MacCann, lead author of the study. MacCann and her colleagues analyzed data from more than 160 studies, representing more than 42,000 students from 27 countries, published between 1998 and 2019. The students ranged in age from primary school to college. The researchers found that students with higher EI tended to get higher grades and better achievement test scores than those with lower EI scores. This finding held true even when controlling for intelligence and personality factors. What was most surprising to the researchers was the association held despite different ages.
As for why EI can affect academic performance, MacCann believes a number of factors may come into play. “Students with higher EI may be better able to manage negative emotions, such as anxiety, boredom and disappointment, which can negatively affect academic performance,” she said. “Also, these students may be better able to manage the social world around them, forming better relationships with teachers, classmates and family, all of which are important to academic success.” Finally, the skills required for EI, such as understanding human motivation and emotion, may overlap with (与……重叠) the skills required to master certain subjects, such as history and language, giving students an advantage in those subject areas, according to MacCann.
However, MacCann cautions against widespread testing of students to identify and target those with low EI as it may stigmatize (给……打上烙印) those students. Instead, she recommends interventions that involve the whole school, including additional teacher training and a focus on teacher well-being and emotional skills. “Programs that integrate emotional skill development into the existing curriculum would be beneficial, as research suggests that training works better when run by teachers rather than external specialists,” she said. “Increasing skills for everyone — not just those with low EI—would benefit everyone.”
1. What surprised the researchers most during MacCann’s study?| A．Intelligence mattered more than EI for academic success. |
| B．EI had an effect on learning for students of all ages. |
| C．College students benefited more from EI than pupils. |
| D．Personality affected academic performance greatly. |
| A．High-EI students hardly experience negative emotions. |
| B．High-EI students seldom develop social relationships. |
| C．High-EI students tend to easily focus on their study. |
| D．High-EI students have helpful skills for certain subjects. |
| A．Equipping teachers with emotional skills. |
| B．Designing tests to identify students with low EI. |
| C．Developing special programs for students with low EI. |
| D．Employing emotional specialists to give training to students. |
| A．Should EI be taught in school? |
| B．How can students develop high EI? |
| C．Students with high EI do better in school |
| D．Good students do better in managing emotions |
It is no secret that China has an incredibly rich, complex and ancient history and culture. My first
Culture and food are closely connected and perhaps nowhere else can this be seen more clearly
3 . PFAS are found in nonstick pans, water-proof fabrics and food packaging. They’re called forever chemicals because of their ability to stick around and not break down. Now, using a bit of heat and two relatively common compounds, researchers have degraded (降解) the chemical in the lab.
While some scientists have found relatively simple ways of breaking down select PFAS, most degradation methods require harsh processes using intense pressure — in some cases over 22 mega-pascals — or extremely high temperatures — sometimes upwards of 1,000℃ — to break the chemical bonds.
William Dichtel, from Northwestern University in Evanston, and his team experimented with two substances found in nearly every chemistry lab; sodium hydroxide (氢氧化钠), also known as lye, and a solvent (溶剂) called DMSO. The team worked specifically on a group of forever chemicals which contain a large percentage of PFAS.
When the team combined chemicals with the lye and DMSO at 120℃ and with no extra pressure needed, the carbolic acid (羧酸) fell off the chemicals and became carbon dioxide. “What happened next was unexpected, ” Dichtel said. The loss of the acid helped degrade the chemicals into fluoride ions (氟离子) and smaller carbon-containing products, leaving behind no harmful by-products.
“It’s a neat method; it’s different from others that have been tried,” says Chris Sales, an environmental engineer at Drexel University in Philadelphia who was not involved in the study. “The biggest question is how this could be adapted and scaled up. Understanding this mechanism is just one step in undoing forever chemicals,” Sales said.
This process wouldn’t work to deal with PFAS in the environment, because it requires a concentrated amount of the chemicals, but it could one day be used in wastewater treatment plants, where the pollutants could be filtered out of the water, concentrated and then broken down.
1. What can we learn about the previous ways to break down PFAS?| A．They’re eco-friendly. | B．They’ve been widely used. |
| C．They’re difficult to operate. | D．They’re regarded as useless. |
| A．They experimented with different solvents. |
| B．They tried two very common substances. |
| C．They tested every group of forever chemicals, |
| D．They exposed chemicals to extreme temperatures. |
| A．Environmentally-friendly reactions occurred. |
| B．The carboxylic acid became carbon dioxide. |
| C．No extra pressure was needed for the trial. |
| D．The lye and DMSO could work at 120℃, |
| A．It is difficult to deal with PFAS in the environment. |
| B．This mechanism will soon be used in the environment. |
| C．The method will be applied to different kinds of chemicals. |
| D．More research is needed before the method is widely used. |
4 . Have you ever been in mid-conversation with someone, when you look over and find them standing in the same position as you or holding the same facial expression? It may seem like they have consciously copied you, but it is much more likely that it is the chameleon (变色龙) effect at play.
The chameleon effect is the unconscious imitation of another person’s gestures or behavior. Just as a chameleon attempts to match any environment’s colors, people acquire the behavior of others to bring them closer together and help make their interactions smooth.
The chameleon effect was confirmed in an experiment by psychologists John Bargh and Tanya Chartrand in 1999. The part of their experiment included 78 people, who each spoke with an experimenter. During the test, Bargh and Chartrand studied whether participants would copy the actions of someone they hadn’t met before, like moving the foot and touching the face. The second part measured the impact that copying someone has on the person being imitated.
In the first stage, participants increased their face touching by 20% and their foot movement by 50% while in conversation about a photograph with the experimenter. The individuals weren’t aware of what they were being studied for, and the photograph was used to catch their attention to insure unconscious acts. The second stage involved half of the participants being copied, and then rating the likability of the experimenter. The results, showed that those who were imitated scored the experimenter higher. It has shown that when someone copies our behavior, we develop more positive feelings about them. These interactions could be a person unconsciously willing to be liked, and forming a moment of connection.
The main reasons behind humans’ imitation are positive. However, when people carry this chameleon effect to the extreme, they can lose their sense of self. Those who change their entire personalities in different groups often go undetected. But more common signs of the chameleon effect are easier to notice. Next time you are in a social gathering, take a look around and you might just see some chameleons for yourself.
1. Why do people imitate others’ behavior?| A．To show admiration for others. | B．To adapt to the surroundings. |
| C．To establish a connection with others. | D．To attract others’ attention. |
| A．By directing their attention to a photo. | B．By keeping an eye on their actions. |
| C．By telling them the purpose of the study. | D．By evaluating the impacts of imitation. |
| A．People tend to like those who imitate their behavior. |
| B．Too much of the chameleon effect can be beneficial. |
| C．People imitating others are not easy to be detected. |
| D．The copied movements help people to feel relaxed. |
| A．Students adopt teachers’ accents for fun after class. |
| B．People change their habits to please others on purpose. |
| C．A comedian copies a celebrity vividly on stage. |
| D．A husband and his wife share similar behaviors over time. |
5 . 
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1. What service can Parsley Box offer you?| A．To put your meals in the microwave. | B．To deliver meals direct to your door. |
| C．To cook meals for you in your kitchen. | D．To place the meals in your cupboard. |
| A．Carefully selected vegetable. | B．Use no sauces to cook the meat. |
| C．Cook the meats slowly with sauces. | D．Mix two portions of potato and wine. |
| A．To teach people to cook delicious meals. | B．To encourage people to order meals. |
| C．To allow people to enjoy meals free of charge. | D．To inspire people to make an advertisement. |
6 . For me, one cultural shock was during my stay in South Korea.
In 2019, I went to Seoul to teach English. As soon as I landed I went to dinner. I was pescatarian(鱼素者) at the time and asked if we could go to a restaurant that
Unlike Western restaurants, Korean restaurants usually specialize in a(n)
My first surprise was the banchan (side dishes). I was
But the grandmother kept
This was the first experience that
| A．served | B．promoted | C．advertised | D．cooked |
| A．striking | B．expensive | C．specific | D．attractive |
| A．order | B．treat | C．enjoy | D．decide |
| A．amazed | B．inspired | C．disappointed | D．overwhelmed |
| A．unbearable | B．significant | C．poisonous | D．desirable |
| A．took up | B．tend to | C．brought out | D．figure out |
| A．observation | B．selection | C．reflection | D．interaction |
| A．disguise | B．escape | C．fade | D．march |
| A．wrapping | B．roasting | C．tearing | D．combining |
| A．settling | B．stuffing | C．delivering | D．squeezing |
| A．admit | B．predict | C．learn | D．admire |
| A．swallow | B．digest | C．reject | D．absorb |
| A．opened | B．feasted | C．limited | D．kept |
| A．precious | B．unexpected | C．flexible | D．normal |
| A．mystery | B．charm | C．difference | D．fortune |
7 . Why play sports? You might say “to get exercise” and you would be right. To have fun? That's true, too. But there's more.
Girls who play sports do better in school. You might think that athletics will take up all your study time.
Girls who play sports learn teamwork and goal-setting skills.
Sports are good for a girl's health. In addition to being fit and keeping a healthy weight, girls who play sports are also less likely to smoke. And later in life, girls who exercise are less likely to get breast cancer or osteoporosis(骨质疏松症).
Playing sports improves self-confidence.
| A．Exercise cuts the pressure. |
| B．Sports teach valuable life skills. |
| C．Regular exercise increases quality of life. |
| D．In fact, there are at least five more reasons. |
| E．Girls who play sports feel better about themselves. |
| F．Playing sports offers children more than just physical benefits. |
| G．But research shows that girls who play sports do better in school than those who don't. |
8 . It’s a late night in the Metro area of Phoenix, Arizona. Under the streetlights, a car can be seen slowly approaching and parking. A green and blue ‘W’ glows (发光) from the windscreen, giving off just enough light to see inside—showing a completely empty driver seat. When the person waiting for it opens the door to climb inside, a voice greets him. “Good evening, this car is yours,” it says. This is a Waymo One robotaxi, ordered just 10 minutes ago using an app.
The promise of driverless technology has long been inviting. It has the potential to improve our experience of commuting (通勤) and long journeys and take people out of high-risk working environments. It’s key to helping us build the cities of the future, lowering carbon emissions. And it could make traveling safer. “We want safer roads and less accidents. Automation (自动化) could provide that, ” says Camilla Fowler, head of automated transport for the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).
But in order for driverless technology to become mainstream, much still needs to change.
“Driverless vehicles should be a very calm way of getting from A to B. But not every human driver around it will be driving in that way,” says David Hynd, from TRL. “It’s got to be able to deal with human drivers speeding, for instance, or breaking the rules of the road.”
And that’s not the only challenge. There’s regulation, rethinking the highway code, public perception, improving the infrastructure (基础设施) of our streets, towns, cities, and the big question of ultimate responsibility for road accidents. “The whole insurance industry is looking into how they’re going to deal with that change from a person being responsible and in charge to the vehicle doing that,” says Richard Jinks, vice president of commercial at Oxfordshire-based driverless vehicle software company Oxbotica, which has been testing its technology in cars and delivery vehicles at several locations across the UK and Europe.
The ultimate vision (终极愿景) experts are working towards is of completely driverless vehicles, not only for personal use but also for industry and wider transport networks, that can be used anywhere and everywhere around the world.
But with all these challenges in place, what exactly does the next 10 years have in store for autonomous vehicles?
1. What is special about the car mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．It drives very slowly. |
| B．It is automatic and drives itself. |
| C．It can sense its driver’s feelings. |
| D．There is enough light to see inside. |
| A．Their main dangers. | B．Their special design. |
| C．Their wide popularity. | D．Their potential advantages. |
| A．It isn’t ready for wide application. |
| B．It will make driving a safe experience. |
| C．It isn’t developing as smoothly as planned. |
| D．It will increase profits in the insurance industry. |
| A．Hopeful. | B．Surprised. | C．Uncertain. | D．Disappointed. |
China unveiled (公布) a list of the country’s top 10 scientific achievements for 2022. It featured breakthroughs in basic research
In the field of agriculture, Chinese researchers identified yield-related genes in corn and rice,
This year’s list of the country’s top 10 scientific advances is the
10 . Whom should you marry? Where should you live? How should you spend your time? For centuries, people have relied on their gut instincts (直觉) to figure out the answers to these life-changing questions. Now, though, there is a better way. We are living through a data explosion, as vast amounts of information about all aspects of human behavior have become more and more accessible. We can use this big data to help determine the best course to chart.
There has long been overwhelming- and often surprising- evidence that algorithms (算法) can be much better than people at making difficult decisions. Researchers have collected data on various kinds of choices people make, the information they base those choices on, and how things turn out. They have found, for example, that a simple data-driven algorithm would have been better than judges at deciding whether a defendant should stay in jail (监狱) or be released; better than doctors at deciding whether a patient should get a procedure; and better than school principals at deciding which teachers should be promoted.
The power of data analysis has been proved in the sports and business worlds, too. As made famous by the book and movie Moneyball, baseball teams found that algorithms were better than scouts (物色优秀运动员的人) at picking players, and better than managers at picking strategies. In finance, the hedge fund (避险基金) Renaissance Technologies dramatically defeated competitors by seeking out patterns in stock market data and using them to inform its investment strategy. Tech firms in Silicon Valley have found that data from experiments provides better insights into how to design their websites than designers could.
These are the early days of the data revolution in decision-making. I am not claiming that we can completely outsource (外包) our lifestyle choices to algorithms, though we might get to that point in the future. I am claiming instead that we can all dramatically improve our decision-making by consulting evidence mined from thousands or millions of people who faced dilemmas similar to ours. And we can do that now.
1. What makes people better at finding answers to life-changing questions?| A．People’s better gut instincts. | B．Changed human behavior. |
| C．The modern information era. | D．Various courses accessible. |
| A．court rulings | B．job promotions |
| C．operative estimation | D．teaching practices |
| A．The plot of the movie Moneyball is related to successful data analysis. |
| B．Scouts and managers are not needed in successful baseball teams. |
| C．The hedge fund Renaissance Technologies had some financial problems. |
| D．Tech firms in Silicon Valley mainly relied on data to design websites. |
| A．The modern information era is mature enough to take advantage of. |
| B．People should outsource all the lifestyle choices to algorithms. |
| C．With big data people can learn from countless similar examples. |
| D．Face-to-face consultation will be the major trend in the future. |
