1 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

Time: is there ever enough of it? In today's modern world, most of us are     1    with so-called time-saving devices and technological advancements and work less both at the office and at home. But why do we still feel busier?

A study by Derek Thompson on the “myth" of being busy suggests that while     2    brought us convenience, it also brought us new headaches. Consider the idea of FOMO (fear of missing out). Knowing exactly what we're missing out makes us feel guilty or anxious about the     3     of our time and our ability to use it effectively.

While being informed is important, it can lead to anxiety about keeping up with the times. If you find yourself unable to stop scrolling through Twitter, turn off the phone and take a mental break. Practice JOMO (joy of missing out), a(n)     4    on life that's a direct contradiction to FOMO. Get rid of feelings of guilt and “shoulds" and replace them with mindfulness and living in the moment.

Another thing technology has     5     us is the blurring (难以区分)between work and downtime. While constant connection has made the workday much more flexible, it's also harder to turn off at the end of the day. Always being "on" is a(n)     6    state of mind. Consider putting a hard stop on media and electronic devices an hour or two before bed.

Of course, if you want to move up the corporate ladder and get a bigger paycheck, working long hours has long been a     7     strategy. But if you don't have passion for your job or care about what you do, you might just be working yourself into more     8    .

People working the same hours feel completely different levels of time pressure depending on their passion. If most of the hours are spent doing something you don't feel     9    about, it's no wonder you start to feel out of control and anxious about your time. Taking back control of your time can ease this mental stress. Therefore, your time management goal shouldn't be to figure out how to do more, but     10    to figure out how to want less.

2 . Each year, backed up by a growing anti-consumerist movement, people are using the holiday season to call on us all to shop less.

Driven by concerns about resource exhaustion, over recent years environmentalists have increasingly turned their sights on our “consumer culture”. Groups such as The Story of Stuff and Buy Nothing New Day are growing as a movement that increasingly blames all our ills on our desire to shop.

We clearly have a growing resource problem. The produces we make, buy, and use are often linked to the destruction of our waterways, biodiversity, climate and the land on which millions of people live. But to blame these issues on Christmas shoppers is misguided, and puts us in the old trap of blaming individuals for what is a systematic problem.

While we complain about environmental destruction over Christmas, environmentalists often forget what the holiday season actually means for many people. For most, Christmas isn’t an add-on to an already heavy shopping year. In fact, it is likely the only time of year many have the opportunity to spend on friends and family, or even just to buy the necessities needed for modern life.

This is particularly, true for Boxing Day, often the target of the strongest derision(嘲弄) by anti-consumerists. While we may laugh at the queues in front of the shops, for many, those sales provide the one chance to buy items they’ve needed all year. As Leigh Phillips argues, “this is one of the few times of the year that people can even hope to afford such ‘luxuries’, the Christmas presents their kids are asking for, or just an appliance that works.”

Indeed, the richest 7% of people are responsible for 50% of greenhouse gas emissions. This becomes particularly harmful when you take into account that those shopping on Boxing Day are only a small part of our consumption “problem” anyway. Why are environmentalists attacking these individuals, while ignoring such people as Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who has his own￡1.5bn yacht with a missile defence system?

Anyway, anti-consumerism has become a movement of wealthy people talking down to the working class about their life choices, while ignoring the real cause of our environmental problems. It is no wonder one is changing their behaviours—or that environmental destruction continues without any reduction in intensity.

1. It is indicated in the 1st   paragraph that during the holiday season, many consumers .

A．ignore resource problems

B．are fascinated with presents

C．are encouraged to spend less

D．show great interest in the movement.

2. It can be inferred from Paragraphs 2 and 3 that the environmentalist movement .

A．has targeted the wrong persons

B．has achieved its intended purposes

C．has taken environment-friendly measures

D．has benefited both consumers and producers

3. The example of Roman Abramovich is used to show environmentalists’ .

A．madness about life choices

B．discontent with rich lifestyle

C．ignorance about the real cause

D．disrespect for holiday shoppers

4. It can be concluded from the text that telling people not to shop at Christmas is .

A．anything less than a responsibility	B．nothing more than a bias
C．indicative of environmental awareness	D．unacceptable to ordinary people

3 . Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

The Psychology of Spending

Dr. Thomas Gilovich, psychology professor at Cornell University, has studied the psychology of spending for over 20 years. According to Dr. Gilovich，“We buy things to make us happy, and we succeed, but only for a while. New things are exciting to us at first, but then we adapt to them.” In other words，once the freshness of our newest purchase wears off, we begin looking for something else to buy to make us happy.

Dr. Gilovich found that our satisfaction with possessions fades over time. Yet our happiness over things we've experienced increases. For that reason, he has concluded that we are spending our money on the wrong things. A study out of San Francisco State University agrees. The researeh showed that those people who spent money on experiences instead of possessions were happier. They also thought their money was better invested.

To begin with, activities like a trip, adventure, hobby, etc. tend to bring the participants together and unite them over a shared interest. According to Gilovich, “We consume experiences directly with other people.” As a result, these experiences typically create a positive link and good feelings toward the other person or people.

Besides, your experience shows others who you are and what you are. For example, you might be someone who loves taking cooking classes. More than likely, you'll become known by friends and family as a great cook. They won't know you as someone who owns the latest kitchen equipment.

Lastly, planned experiences are frequently something we look forward to. Then when the moment arrives, if we enjoy the time involved in the activity, we're left with fond memories. These memories will often last a lifetime. Even our worst trips, on many occasions, are later remembered with laughter.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . Directions:Read the following passage. Summarize in no more than 60 words the main idea of the passage and how it is illustrated. Use your own words as far as possible.

According to an official report on youth violence.“In our country today, the greatest threat to the lives of children and adolescents is not disease or starvation or abandonment, but the terrible reality of violence.”Given that this is the case, why aren’t students taught to manage conflict the way they are taught to solve math problems, drive cars, or stay physically fit?

First of all, students need to realize that conflict is unavoidable. It is reported that most violent incidents between students begin with a relatively minor insult. For example, a fight could start over the fact that one student eats a peanut butter sandwich each lunchtime. Laughter over the sandwich can lead to insults, which in turn can lead to violence.

If the conflict occurs, students can practice the golden rule of conflict resolution: stay calm.

Once the student feels calmer. Once the student feels calmer. He or she should choose words that will calm the other person down as well. Rude words and accusations only add fuel to the emotional fire while soft words can put out the fire before it explodes out of control.

After that, they can use another key strategy for conflict resolution. Listening allows the two sides to understand each other. One person should describe his or her side: and the other person should listen without interrupting. Afterwards, the listener can ask non-threatening questions to clarify the speaker’s position. Then the two people should change roles.

Finally, students need to consider what they are hearing. An argument doesn’t mean trying to figure out the fault of the other person but means understanding what the real issue is. As the issue becomes clearer, the conflict often simply becomes smaller.(280 words)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5 . Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

Where do you think the world’s happiest people live? Somewhere hot with sandy beaches? A country with a tradition of the fine food and culture? Not according to a recent study by the university of Leicester. Who are the happiest people on Earth?     1     Surprised? Well you’ll be more surprised when you hear that the Danes pay some of the highest taxes in the world. So what is the secret of their success?

Let’s start with all that tax they pay. The Danish government provides its people with one of the finest education and health systems in the world. It spends more on children and elderly people per capital than other country.

And there’s another advantage to those high taxes. Because a shop assistant’s final salary is not that much less than someone who works in a bank, for example, Danes don’t choose their careers based on money or status as people in other countries do. They choose the job they want to do. There’s a philosophy in Denmark known as “Jante-lov”, which translates as “you’re no better than anybody else.”     2     But workers in other countries are not used to looking at life in this way.

Money doesn’t seem as important in Denmark. It has been called a “post consumerist” society.     3     What is more important is the sense of society and it’s no surprise that Danes are very used to socializing. 92% of Danes belong to some kind of social club and these clubs are even paid for by the government.

    4     They also show an amazing amount of trust in each other and their government. You can see sighs of this all over the country. You’ll find vegetable stalls with no assistant. You take what you want and leave the money in a basket. perhaps the bike is a good symbol for Denmark. The Danes can afford cars but they choose bikes—simple, economical, non-polluting machines that show no status and help keep people fit.

A．In a list ranking countries by the happiness of their citizens, it pm tropical Fiji 50 places below freezing Iceland.

B．The street sweeper can hold his head up high as he proudly does his job.

C．Danish people aren’t as suspicious as many other nations.

D．Most Danes are used to seeing between 50-70% of their salary going to the government!

E．Those 5.5 million people who call Denmark their home.

F．People have nice things in their houses, but they’re not mad about shopping and spending.

6 . Directions: Read the following passage. Sunmarize the main idea and the main points of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
A Father’s Influence Makes for Better Grades

Adolescents from low-income families in particular are more likely than their middle-class peers to underachieve and to drop out of school. Studies have shown that a positive attitude towards school work and the support and encouragement from their parents can help at-risk youngsters to overcome the economic barriers and lack of resources they face. Most of the evidence about the effects of parental involvement comes from research on mothers. Little is known, however, about how adolescents experience their fathers’ warmth and the beliefs and behaviors that are most affected by it.

This new study is part of a larger one focusing on low-income families conducted in four middle schools in the southwestern United States. Data were analyzed from questionnaires completed by 183 sixth-graders about how optimistic and motivated they were about their schoolwork, and how they experienced their fathers. The questionnaires were completed primarily by respondents of Mexican American, African American and European American descent. Their maths and language arts grades were also obtained.

Their findings show how fathers can support their teenagers in ways that result in greater optimism, self-efficacy, and, ultimately, higher achievement at school.

These positive effects extend to both sons and daughters, while in different ways. Experiencing their father’s warmth first influences daughters’ sense of optimism, and then spills over into their feeling more determined and certain about their academic abilities. This in turn leads to better math grades. There is a more direct link between their fathers’ involvement and teenage boys’ belief in their ability to succeed on the academic front. This heightened self-confidence increased their success in English language arts classes.

Suizzo suggests that counselors and educators should encourage fathers to communicate warmth and acceptance to their children, because of the positive influence these emotions have on their well-being.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . A sensational new scientific discovery in the ocean near Australia may explain the most massive extinction of living things in Earth’s history. For years, scholars have been frustrated in trying to analyze why 90 to 95 percent of sea life and 75 percent of and life vanished about 250 million years ago. The extinctions were so enormous that they are called The Great Dying. To date, some authorities on ancient life thought that a volcanic eruption or a sudden change in the environment affected all life on Earth. Other specialists have doubted these theories, maintaining that it was not plausible that a solo volcano could bring about such chaos. From the outset, critics believed these claims were exaggerated.

By contrast, there is wide acceptance of the idea that a meteor (流星)which hit Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula 65 million years ago was the primary cause of the dinosaurs’ extinction. Nevertheless, until now they had no evidence of an intense meteor impact 185 mill on years earlier. Now they do.

American geologists have been examining rock samples from a deep sea crater (火山口)near the northwest coast of Australia. The samples were initially collected and preserved by petroleum technicians seeking oil. Now the geologists and their colleagues believe that the precise splits in the rock’s structure show a typical pattern for meteors. There is a clear distinction from volcanic patterns. In fact, a spokesperson went so far as to say that these rocks completely revise the way scientists perceive the mass extinctions from the ancient era. Academics say that the meteor’s crater s the size of Mount Qomolangma, the highest mountain on Earth! Literally, the meteor made a mark on Earth as it drowned in the sea. The Earth could not absorb such a harsh blow without sustaining global devastation. Things must have come to a standstill. Evidently, the blow was fatal for many forms of life.

Bear in mind that all this was long before mammals---including humans--emerged in Earth’s history. Still, we would be wise to pay attention to the damage a meteor can cause. Fortunately, meteor strikes on Earth are few and far between.

1. The word “plausible” (paragraph 1) is closest in meaning to “______”.

A．available	B．incredible
C．reasonable	D．ridiculous

2. Why didn’t the meteor affect human beings?

A．Because they were very resistant	B．Because there weren’t any then
C．Because they lived in isolated areas	D．Because they hid themselves in the caves

3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Scholars agreed that a single volcano caused The Great Dying

B．75 percent of land life continued 250 million years ago

C．Volcanic rocks and meteors have different patterns

D．When the meteor hit land Mount Qomolangma sprang up.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．The Dinosaurs’ End	B．Crater on Qomolangma
C．Contradictory Claims	D．A Meteor’s Impact

8 . The train was speeding onward and the plains of Texas were pouring eastward.

A newly married pair had boarded this coach at San Antonio. The man’s face was reddened from many days in the wind and sun, and a direct result of his new black clothes was that from time to time he looked down respectfully at his clothes. He sat with a hand on each knee, like a man waiting in a barber’s shop. The glace she devoted to other passengers were shy. The bride was not pretty. She wore a dress of blue cashmere. She continually twisted her head to regard her puff sleeves. They embarrassed her. The blushes （脸红）caused by the careless glances of some passengers as she had entered the car were strange to see.

They were evidently very happy. “Ever been in a parlor-car （特等火车）before?” he asked, smiling with delight.

“No,” she answered; “I never was. It’s fine，ain’t it?”

“Great! And then after a while we’ll go forward to the dinner. Fresh meal in the world. Charge a dollar. ”

“Oh, do they?” cried the bride. “Charge a dollar? Why，that’s too much — for us — ain’t it, Jack?”

Later he explained to her about the trains. “You see, if s a thousand miles from one end of Texas to the other; and this runs right across it, and never stops but four times.” He had the pride of an owner. He pointed out to her the dazzling fittings of the coach; and in truth her eyes opened wider and she watched the sea-green velvet（丝绒人）, the shining bronze，silver, and glass, the wood that glowed as darkly brilliant as the surface of a pool of oil. At one end a bronze statue held a support for a separated room, and on the ceiling were frescos（壁画）in olive and silver.

To the minds of the pair, their surroundings reflected the glory of their marriage that morning in San Antonio: this was the environment of their new estate; and the man’s face in particular shone with an elation （得意）that made him appear ridiculous to the Negro porter. This porter at times surveyed them with an amused and superior grin. On other occasions he bullied them with skill in ways that did not make it easy to them that they were being bullied. He oppressed them. But of this oppression they had small knowledge, and infrequently, a number of travelers covered them with stares of derisive （嘲讽的）enjoyment.

At last they went to the dining-car. Two rows of Negro waiters, in glowing white suits, surveyed their entrance with the interest. The pair fell to the seats of a waiter who happened to feel pleasure in steering them through their meal. He viewed them with the manner of a fatherly guide, his face radiant with kindness. The service, coupled with the ordinary deference（毕恭毕敬），was rare to them. And yet, as they returned to their coach, they showed in their faces a sense of escape.

1. The description of the couple's clothes and behaviour seems to indicate that they had a sense of ____.

A．superiority	B．awkwardness
C．despair	D．satisfaction

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The interior of the coach was luxurious and modem.

B．The Negro porter was very helpful to the couple.

C．It was the first time for the couple to take a train in Texas.

D．Some passengers on the train took the couple as an object of fun.

3. What does the underlined word “surveyed” mean in the 8th paragraph?

A．monitored	B．observed
C．searched	D．investigated

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A．The waiter was indifferent to the couple.

B．The couple felt uneasy at dinner.

C．The service was satisfactory.

D．The couple enjoyed the dinner.

9 . Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

Importance of Ethics

Two 1996 studies indicate the importance of the study of ethics to students in journalism and mass communications programs. A survey of seventy-three media ethics courses at universities across the country revealed a continuing rise in enrollment.     1    Also, media organizations have told educators that they value students' critical-thinking and problem-solving skills and their sense of ethics.

However, reasons for studying ethics go beyond what potential employers desire. Proper behavior is necessary for growth and order. if one objective of an education is to promote the growth and development of the individual, then the place to start is with personal behavior. Developing a sense of what is right and wrong, or appropriate and inappropriate, will promote order, not only in individual lives but also in society at large.     2    Speed limits are set, proper directions are indicated, and numerous suggestions are made-seat belts, for example—so that automobile travel is reasonably safe and efficient. Without the “rules” of the road，travel becomes chaotic. Order is necessary.    3     It sets rules” for proper human activity and as a result promotes growth，development，and order in individual lives.

    4    Not every problem is an ethical one, and even when an ethical problem does present itself, people sometimes make the wrong ethical decision, or they make the right ethical decision and it results in unforeseen negative consequences. Nevertheless, people must realize that without a large number of individuals ”doing the right thing，" society would not be doing much at all except fighting for survival and trying to figure out an increasingly chaotic world. Things are bad enough with ethics; think how bad they might be without them.

A．Ethical behavior could play the same role.

B．Think, for example, of the order required to move traffic on roads and highways.

C．Ethics promotes not only a better individual but also a better society.

D．The other study noted that 44 percent of the responding schools required students to complete an ethics course.

E．In conclusion, ethics seeks to resolve moral problems by defining concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong.

F．Ethics, however, is not a magic cure-all

10 . Villa d’Este, Tivoli (Italy) --- Official Site Useful Information

Call Center 199766166

Number to dial from all of Italy for pre-sales and reservations for: tickets, guided tours, school groups, instructional visits.

Bookings from abroad:

email: villadestetivoli@teleart.org fax: 0039 0412770747

Visiting Hours:

Opening 8.30 – closed one hour before sunset.

The ticket office closes one hour before the closing of the monument.

The hydraulic organ of the Organ Fountain is active daily, from 10.30 am, every two hours.

The Fontana della Civetta functions daily, from 10.00 am, every two hours.

Ticket Prices:

(from May 17 to October 20, 2015)

Full ticket (exhibition + villa and gardens, not divisible): €11.

Reduced ticket: €7.

These prices will be valid during the daytime openings of the Villa until the closure of the exhibition, due on the 20^th of October, 2015 (From the 22^nd of October, 2015)

Full ticket: €8 Reduced ticket €4

These fares may vary in conjunction with exhibitions set inside the Villa. The right to purchase reduced price tickets belongs to all citizens of the European Union between the ages of 18 and 24 as well as permanent teachers of state schools (upon presentation of identity documents).

School Visits:

Reservations are required. The management of Villa d’Este, in the aim of preserving the monument and better distributing the flow of students, has limited the number of students allowed into the Villa to 100 students per hour. Should any school group arrive at the Villa without having made a reservation, it will be admitted to the Villa according to space availability at a particular time and asked to wait until such space becomes available. Right of reservation cost: €1,00.

Notices:

Certain areas of the villa may be closed for restoration: for information inquire at the ticket office. Please pay particular attention to the areas marked with signs indicating danger (in Italian: pericolo).

1. How can a visiting Chinese professor of architecture in Rome make a booking?

A．By dialing 199766166.

B．By writing an email to villadestetivili@teleart.org.

C．By calling 0039 04127 19036.

D．By sending a fax to 0039 0412 770747

2. The receptionist at the ticket office may recommend you to see ______first, if you arrive at 10.25 am.

A．the exhibition inside the villa	B．the Organ Fountain
C．the gardens	D．the Fontana della Civetta

3. Why are reservations essential for school visits?

A．Reservations are more economical.

B．Reservations enable as many students as possible to visit the monument.

C．Reservations ensure a pleasant visit for students and a manageable one of the Villa.

D．Reservation fees can help preserve the site.