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 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Cold temperature, biting wind, heavy snow and slippery roads are the common challenges
The first cold wave of winter
3 . As archaeologists (考古学家) examined ancient tombs in Turfan in western China, they discovered some surprisingly well-preserved and familiar relics. Though hardened from over 1,000 years, there sat little dumplings.
Exactly who invented dumplings remains a mystery. But some scholars suspect they were first spread by nomadic (游牧的) Turkic peoples living in western China and Central Asia. This is thought to be the case because “manti,” meaning “dumpling” or “steamed bun” in many Turkic languages, appears to be the root word for dumpling in several other languages. Ancient Turkic people probably filled their dumplings with meat. But it’s unclear when this practice began, or whether they learned the art of dumpling-making from others. However this happened, dumplings certainly gathered steam in ancient China.
Dumplings continued to take off and diversify in China over the next thousand years. Instead of the traditional meat filling, some communities chose vegetarian (素食) dumplings. People developed new cooking methods. The relationship between Chinese dumplings and those in other areas is tricky to trace, but food historians have made their best guesses based on available clues.
Besides Turkic tribes, some scholars believe that the Mongol Empire also contributed to the spread of dumplings, perhaps introducing them to parts of Eastern Europe. These dumplings could have come by way of China or directly from some of the Turkic peoples the Mongols hired to run their empire. One theory is that this gave rise to dumplings like pelmeni in Russia, pierogi in Poland and vareniki in Ukraine. The Mongol Empire also controlled Korea and might have likewise introduced dumplings there. Later, after Chinese dumpling varieties were introduced to more countries, English speakers began calling them dumplings, which means “little lumps”. During the Second World War, Chinese “jiaozi” were brought to Japan. So what about the Italian dumpling-like pasta? Some historians think it might be brought by Arab conquerors.
It’s unlikely that all dumpling dishes came from the same root tradition. However, we can appreciate the mysterious historical web that made dumplings so various.
1. What made Turkic peoples suspected to first spread dumplings?| A．The languages they used. | B．Their eating habits. |
| C．Their dumpling-making skills. | D．The newly found tombs. |
| A．Originated. | B．Stabilized. |
| C．Got well-cooked. | D．Became popular. |
| A．The spreading process of dumplings. |
| B．The possible origins of dumplings. |
| C．Differences between various dumplings. |
| D．Reasons for the popularity of dumplings. |
| A．Delicious. | B．Diverse. | C．Unusual. | D．Regional. |
4 . Your Brain Was Made For Walking
If a president, a legendary philosopher, and one of the bestselling authors of all time credited the same secret for their success, would you try to follow it too? What if the secret was something you already knew how to do?
Get walking! It’s not just some people who made a case for it as a prime creativity booster.
The movement aspect of walking is obviously key. You’ve probably heard the phrase “Exercise your creativity”, which refers to the brain as muscle. Our creative mindset is stimulated by physical movement.
But the scenery is almost as important as the sweat. The National Human Activity Pattern Survey reveals that Americans spend 87 percent of their time indoors. Being inside, you’re more likely to stagnation (停滞), the antithesis of energy.
| A．In fact, you probably do it every day. |
| B．Physical movement is unintentional. |
| C．Without energy, you can’t wonder or create. |
| D．So why not set a creativity goal that starts with walking? |
| E．That is why walking with a friend, or alone feeds creative thinking. |
| F．Researchers have traced connections between walking and generating ideas. |
| G．Disconnecting from multimedia increases performance on all problem-solving tasks. |
5 . If you want to understand China but can’t afford an expensive international flight, these four books can give you a complete overview of the country.
River Town
River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler — This book is a journal of the author’s two years spent teaching English in a small town called Fuling, situated on the banks of the Yangtze River. Hessler writes about his experiences living in a foreign culture and observing the lives of the town’s residents. The book was published in 2001 and has won several awards, including the Kiriyama Prize.
Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China
It is a book that tells the story of China’s modernization. It was written by Ezra Vogel and published in 2011. The author describes how Deng Xiaoping’s policies led to significant changes in China’s economy and society. The book has received critical honors and won the Lionel Gelber Prize in 2012.
The Search for Modern China by Jonathan Spence
This book is a comprehensive history of China from the Ming dynasty to the present day. The author, a prominent scholar of Chinese history, provides a detailed analysis of the social, cultural, and political changes that have taken place in China over the past 500 years. The book was first put out in 1990 and has since been revised and updated several times. This book was the top bestseller for years.
Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China
Written by Leslie T. Chang, this book, published in 2008, is a reportage on the lives of young women who leave their rural homes to work in factories in China’s cities. Chang, a former New York Times journalist, interviewed hundreds of factory girls to provide insight into the social and economic changes in China.
1. What type of literature is River Town?| A．A travel guide of Fuling. | B．A personal diary. |
| C．A science fiction. | D．A reference book. |
| A．It received positive reviews. |
| B．It was published 500 years ago. |
| C．It was written by a history teacher. |
| D．It has remained the same since its first publication. |
| A．River Town |
| B．The Search for Modern China |
| C．Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China |
| D．Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China |
“When I was little, I was always enchanted by buildings,” said Edna Blaise, 29, from Haiti, “but not until I started my journey in China did I realize Chinese architecture has so many things
It was her interest in geometry
Although being a foreign student in China can lead to academic
“Outside of class, I like to go to different places around the city where I can see ancient Chinese architecture like ‘Gugong’ and ‘Qianmen’. I’m hoping to find some
“I am still finding a way to try to combine old and modern architecture together,” Blaise said, adding that she wished to employ the traditional designs in modern technology to come up with something more interesting and
7 . As a child, Liu Wenwen didn’t like the suona, a “loud” traditional Chinese musical instrument, also an ancestral treasure of her family that was to become her career.
Liu says she felt ashamed. In the 1990s, people admired things that were modern and international. The suona was considered out of date. Her father’s family has performed with the suona for seven generations, while the tradition on her mother’s side of the family can be traced back to the early Qing Dynasty. Despite her unwillingness, she followed her parents to play the suona as early as 3 years old. Besides it, Liu has also learned traditional Chinese vocal music and dancing — skills that have improved her oral muscles and sense of rhyme, helping equip her to be a professional musician.
It wasn’t until 2008 that she first found suona music beautiful. That was when she entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to learn the instrument more systematically from Liu Ying, a professor and top player. “The music played by the professor is just amazing, and different from what I had heard before,” she says.
She loves exchanging ideas about suona playing techniques with her students. “It’s wonderful to see the younger generation carrying on this cultural tradition.” Liu Wenwen said she is pleased to see the suona regain popularity among young people, sometimes combined with jazz, opera and other art forms. This has stopped its decline in the 1990s. Her name, when mentioned on China’s social media platforms, often is followed by a video of her live performance at a concert in Sydney, Australia. Westerners were amazed by the loud, unfamiliar instrument and its colorful music. “I felt my hard work had paid off. I trained for over 20 years, probably just to win cheers and applause for traditional Chinese music on the international stage.”
1. What urged Liu Wenwen to learn to play the suona?| A．Career pressure. | B．Social trend. |
| C．Family tradition. | D．Her professor’s performance. |
| A．Her early passion for suona. | B．Her exposure to vocal music and dance. |
| C．Her learning knowledge of rhyme. | D．Her performing experiences with family. |
| A．By learning from the famous professor Liu. |
| B．By visiting Shanghai Conservatory of Music. |
| C．By combining suona with other music forms. |
| D．By watching her family performing with suona. |
| A．She is now working as a professor overseas. |
| B．She appreciates the value of her performance. |
| C．She has made a fortune after 20 years’ devotion. |
| D．She has amazed Westerners with her hard work. |
8 . In the late 1990s, a family visited the public elementary school where I taught deaf students. They said they would be moving to the district and planned to enroll (报名) their deaf daughter as a first grader. They were upset that their child’s kindergarten teacher Jane cautioned them not to have high hopes for her academically. Based upon assessment results, the teacher painted a discouraging picture for their little girl’s future. Standing behind them was Fiona, a beautiful five-year -old with long shiny brown hair and dark flashing eyes. The whole time her parents were there she didn’t make a sound or use sign language, even when her parents encouraged her.
After a few weeks with Fiona, I discovered I was dealing with a very bright, very strong-willed child. Although I was able to engage her in a variety of learning activities, writing was a continual struggle. I tried all kinds of ways to interest her in writing. Every time the pencils came out, she would shut down and refuse to participate.
One day Fiona got off her bus and stood in front of the school, weeping. The staff members present did not know enough sign language to ask her why she was crying. Finally they took her into the office where they handed her a pen and notepad. Fiona wrote: “PACBAK”. Immediately the office staff realized she left her backpack on the bus. They asked the bus to come back to school and soon Fiona was reunited with her backpack.
That day Fiona discovered the power of the pen. From then on, she had a new appreciation for writing. She is a young woman now and has become an excellent writer, public speaker and student leader. During her senior year in high school, Fiona became the Douglas County Rodeo Queen and the following year she enrolled at the University of Northern Colorado, determined to become a teacher. In the summer of 2008, I traveled to the National Association of the Deaf Conference in New Orleans and watched her perform competitively as Miss Deaf Colorado. Fiona keeps in touch and I especially treasure her e-mails with term papers attached. This young lady has a very powerful pen!
1. What made Fiona’s parents upset?| A．Fiona’s being unable to hear anything at birth. |
| B．Fiona’s being refused by the elementary school. |
| C．Fiona failure to use the sign language properly. |
| D．Fiona’s possible unpromising future in Jane’s mind. |
| A．Fiona’s lack of determination in learning. |
| B．Fiona’s extreme unwillingness to write. |
| C．Fiona’s bad relationship with the teacher. |
| D．Fiona’s incompetence in handling pencils. |
| A．She treasured the e-mails from her teacher very much. |
| B．She travelled to New Orleans to give thanks to her teacher. |
| C．She succeeded as a result of her affection for writing. |
| D．She decided to be a writer at the University of Northern Colorado. |
| A．Power of the Pen | B．Ambition of a Deaf Girl |
| C．Appreciation of the Pen | D．Spelling of a Backpack |
9 . Science is a process that builds upon existing theories and knowledge by continuously revising them. Every aspect of scientific knowledge can be questioned, including the general rules of thinking that appear to be most certain. So why is science trustworthy if it is always changing? If tomorrow we will no longer see the world as Newton or Einstein found it to be, why should we take seriously today’s scientific description of the world?
The answer is simple: Because at any given moment of our history, this description of the world is the best we have. The fact that it can be made better can’t diminish (降低) the fact that it is a useful instrument for understanding the world.
Consider a folk healer’s herbal medicine. Can we say this treatment is “scientific”? Yes, if it is proven to be effective, even if we have no idea why it works. In fact, quite a few common medications used today have their origin in folk treatments, and we are still not sure how they work. This does not imply that folk treatments are generally effective. To the contrary, many of them are not. What distinguishes scientific medicine is the readiness to seriously test a treatment and to be ready to change our minds if something is shown not to work. A research doctor in a modern hospital must be ready to change his theory if a more effective way of understanding illness, or treating it, becomes available.
What makes modern science uniquely powerful is its refusal to believe that it already possesses ultimate truth. The reliability of science is based not on certainty but on a complete absence of certainty. As John Stuart Mill wrote in “On Liberty” in 1859, “The beliefs which we have most warrant (依据) for, have no safeguard to rest on, but a standing invitation to the whole world to prove them unfounded.”
1. Why does the author raise the two questions in paragraph 1?| A．To add some fun. | B．To express doubts. |
| C．To introduce the topic. | D．To provide background. |
| A．It can be timeless. | B．It can be improved. |
| C．It is of little value. | D．It is the best at any moment. |
| A．Dismissive. | B．Objective. | C．Pessimistic. | D．Sympathetic. |
| A．It is unwise to believe in science. |
| B．Too much uncertainty lies in science. |
| C．The foundation of science is unfounded. |
| D．The lack of certainty makes science credible. |
10 . Alicia Quarles has her hands full these days — both of them, at all hours of the day and night.
“Having a baby unexpectedly at 41 is one thing; having twins is a whole other beast, ” says the global entertainment editor.
Actually, until her pregnancy Quarles had been living at breakneck speed. It went so until last year. “I was exhausted,” she says. “I’d been working three jobs, doing my charity and going nonstop. I was afraid my mental health was getting worse.” In early August she took herself to the hospital, to see if she was OK. Doctors ran multiple tests and told her that she had had an anxiety attack, and she was 11 weeks pregnant.
“She was stressed and decompensated (代谢失调的), so everything just came to more than she could handle at the time,” explains doctor Miriam Barnes, who began treating her. “Fortunately, she tried to be positive and seek help from me immediately. I told her not to have any medication at that stage and advised her to take natural therapy (疗法).”
A week later Quarles learned that she was having twins. But instead of that news adding to her anxiety, “a total peace came over me, and it felt like it all made sense,” she says. Quarles, who did not take any medication, returned home to her loved ones in North Carolina, where she gave birth to Hudson and Harlow on Feb. 16. “There’s nothing like family,” she says. “I found out through working on myself in natural therapy that there were a lot of things I hadn’t dealt with. I just kept going.”
These days Quarles uses social media to document her joyful motherhood journey. Quarles has put her anxiety behind but remains in therapy — and wants to encourage others who feel stressed to get help. “At first I felt guilty and embarrassed,” she admits. “I don’t anymore. My message is you can fall down. But you can stand up, by yourself or with the help of others. It’s not a shame, and it’s a blessing.”
1. Which of the following best explains “breakneck” underlined in paragraph 2?| A．Safe and slow. | B．Fast and dangerous. |
| C．Exciting and terrifying. | D．Gentle and comfortable. |
| A．To give birth and make some friends. |
| B．To have a break and treat her anxiety. |
| C．To take natural therapy and stay alone. |
| D．To look after her family and visit a doctor. |
| A．Keep standing up. | B．Fall down if needed. |
| C．Face whatever comes. | D．Obtain assistance when necessary. |
| A．An Anxious 41-year-old Mother |
| B．A Mother’s Astonishing Experience |
| C．An Interesting Taste of Motherhood |
| D．A Mother Fighting Her Mental Breakdown |
