1 . On Feb. 23, an environmental advocacy group “Grassroots” led by students hosted its monthly clothing exchange. The clothing exchange is a free activity on campus where students can donate clothes in exchange for new ones.
“One of the key things about sustainability (可持续性) is to reuse,” Crystal Tynon, Co-president and Clothing Exchange Chair, said. “Instead of throwing away old clothes and buying new clothes, you can donate them and give them a new purpose. You might be done with those clothing items, but someone else might not be.”
According to Tynon, “Grassroots” is hoping to expand the activities to other schools. In order to do so, the team is brainstorming new ways to get the word out about donations, hours and events. Now, the clothing exchange is one of the club’s most well-known activities. “Throughout the semester when people realize we have these exchanges, they genuinely bring clothes and participate a lot more. So it does make a difference to clothing sustainability and it does create a community where everyone can share their clothes,” she added.
As “Grassroots” is an initiative dedicated to sustainability, paper advertisement is not an option. Instead, the center relies mostly on word-of-mouth and e-mail announcements. It is bringing speakers to campus to talk about sustainability and environmental advocacy. It also has partnerships with local organizations such as “the Sunrise Rochester”, working together to have volunteers become more involved in local sustainability.
Chloe Mendoza has been a volunteer since her freshman year. Not only does Mendoza appreciate the intended mission of promoting sustainability, but she also thinks the center has transformed into a safe and accepting community space for all students. Those who have come in looking for something practical often end up leaving with an armful of clothing and a heart full of warmth.
“My favorite part about working there is that we get to help people find things that they need for free. Just providing a place for students to go where there isn’t pressure to spend money is really important. A lot of students love saving, so it’s something that students can relate and engage with easily, so I think it’s a really easy way to get students more involved in sustainability,” says Mendoza.
1. Which of the following best describes Tynon’s feelings about their clothing exchange?| A．Impressive. | B．Innovative. |
| C．Demanding. | D．Rewarding. |
| A．It relies heavily on paper advertisements. |
| B．It cooperates with local institutions. |
| C．It invites speakers to be volunteers. |
| D．It earns instant fame in the community. |
| A．It brings spiritual comfort. | B．It widens the circle of friends. |
| C．It reduces academic pressure. | D．It gives a sense of achievement. |
| A．Saving Up Through Clothing Exchange |
| B．Engaging Students in “Grassroots” Events |
| C．Clothing Exchange Is the Only Way for Sustainability |
| D．Environmental Advocacy — “Grassroots” Catches On |
2 . Why did Chinese people have more than one name in ancient times?
In ancient China, people’s names had three parts, their family name, given name and courtesy name. Take famous poet Li Bai for example. His family name, which came from his father’s name, was Li. His given name was Bai, and his courtesy name was Taibai.
People used their given names when they were among family members. But in social life, they called each other by their courtesy names to show respect. This was mostly done among people of similar ages. If you were talking about yourself, or if your elders were talking about you, the given name would be used instead of the courtesy name.
Men would get their courtesy names when they turned 20. It was a symbol of adulthood (成年礼). Women would get their courtesy names after getting married.
One’s courtesy name often had something to do with one’s given name. For example, the name of Mencius was Meng Ke. His courtesy name was Ziyu. Both Ke and Ziyu mean “carriage (马车)”. Zhuge Liang’s given name was Liang, which means “bright”. His courtesy name was Kongming, which means “very bright”.
1. How many parts are there in people’s names in ancient China?| A．3. | B．4. | C．5. | D．6. |
| A．To show their love. | B．To show their good relationship. |
| C．To show their kindness. | D．To show their respect. |
| A．Family name. | B．Nickname. |
| C．Given name. | D．Courtesy name. |
| A．By telling stories. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By comparing differences. | D．By listing numbers. |
3 . I enjoy throwing stuff away. I’d love to go full minimalism (极简主义), but my wife and two teenage kids do not share my dream of a house with almost nothing in it. I have tried. When the kids were little, I taught them my two favorite games – “Do We Need It?” and “Put It in Its Place”— and made them play every few months. Their enthusiasm never matched mine.
If I’m going to be honest, my own tidying skills are not as great as I’d like. My “discarded” pile is never quite the trash mountain I want because I make up excuses for why things are useful. I consider this unhealthy. I want to be better at moving on.
So, this time I found help—the classics for people like me: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo. Kondo’s commitment to her craft is astonishing. Her philosophy is only to keep things you love. Can I go full Kondo? I will try. One central idea is to clean by category. You start by collecting all clothes and gathering them together for consideration. It makes you rethink how you organize. Next, hold each item and ask if it brings you joy. This way you’re choosing what to keep. And that’s how I find myself with all my clothes on my bedroom floor. My wife walks by and gives me a look that says I’m nuts. She’s probably not wrong.
Somewhere near the bottom of this chaos is my special jacket. I move through the pile: pants, shirts, suits and shoes. Then my last category: jackets. I haven’t worn it in about 30 years. Somehow, it has survived. Now, has its time come?
I hold it in my hand. There is a tear just below the collar that widens as I hold it. It’s literally falling apart. Will I ever wear it again? Not a chance. Does it feel good to wear? Does it bring me joy? Actually, yes. At this moment, my daughter walks in. She asks about the jacket. I tell her the story. She thinks I should keep it. It’s cool and unique and full of memories. She is arguing that nostalgia (怀念) is the very reason.
I’m not entirely convinced by my daughter’s arguments. I believe in looking ahead, not backward. Nevertheless, sometimes it’s hard to let go. So I gently place the jacket on the “keep” pile.
1. What can we learn about the author’s family members from Paragraph1?| A．They can’t tolerate what the author insists on. |
| B．They are less passionate about full minimalism. |
| C．They are strongly opposed to full minimalism. |
| D．They completely support what the author does. |
| A．abandoned | B．disposable | C．organized | D．classified |
| A．To learn how to categorize. | B．To develop a passion for minimalism. |
| C．To persuade his family members. | D．To improve his tidying skills. |
| A．The importance of categorizing skills | B．The changes brought by minimalism |
| C．The author’s efforts to go minimalism | D．An inspiration got from the book |
4 . Unique Birthday Traditions
The editors of our international editions share traditions reserved for counting yourself one year older.
Lithuania
“In my native country, it is customary for the birthday person to sit in a decorated chair and to be lifted up by the party guests,” says editor Eva Mackevic. “How many times the chair is raised will correspond with his or her age.”
Japan
In Japan, when a child turns one, a ceremony called erabitori is held, where the birthday child chooses from a selection of items spread out around that represent the potential future. When a person turns 20, a coming-of-age celebration will be held on the second Monday January.
The Netherlands
When someone turns 50, a large doll will be placed in the birthday person’s garden or by heir front door; men have an “Abraham” doll, women a “Sarah”, based on a Bible passage.
Australia
A child’s first birthday is often celebrated with balloons and specially made “fairy bread”. Some families in Australia also mark the age of 21 with a souvenir “key to the door”, representing the young adult’s privilege to come and go from the family home as they please.
Germany
“In Germany, when unmarried men turn thirty, they are supposed to sweep the stairs of the local church or town hall,” editor Michael Kallinger says, “while women have to deal with the door handle.” This public act is meant to embarrass the person and motivate them to marry.
1. Which is part of a one-year-old boy’s birthday celebration in Japan?| A．Predicting the boy’s future. | B．Deciding the boy’s career. |
| C．Seeking items at the birthday party. | D．Holding a coming-of-age ceremony. |
| A．Love from parents. | B．Time to move out. |
| C．End of the 21st birthday. | D．Recognition of independence. |
| A．Germany. | B．Australia. |
| C．Lithuania. | D．The Netherlands. |
5 . Interested in different cultures? Take a look at these communities around the world, discover how they celebrate their traditional festivals, and see just how they like to throw a party.
Naadam Festival, Mongolia
Naadam Festival is an annual celebration in mid-summer that consists of the “Three Games of Man” strength, horsemanship and marksmanship. The festival is believed to have existed for centuries, first in the form of military and sporting displays that followed wedding and spiritual gatherings, and then as a way to train soldiers for battle. The festival begins as a colorful opening ceremony before the three sports.
Day of the Dead, Mexico
Taking place over two colorful days in Mexico and Latin America. this festival honors all things relating to the dead, and is not as scary as it sounds, as it focuses on people taking joy in lite, and showing love and respect for dead family members and friends. On November 1 and 2. participants dress up, hold parties and make offerings to the dead to welcome spirits back to the land of the living.
Zimei Festival, China
Every year, on the 15 day of the 3’d lunar month, the Miao people of South China celebrate the Zimei Festival, known as “Nong ga liang”. The festival is a good opportunity for young girls and boys to meet and fall in love. Wearing traditional costumes, people gather on the village square. Young women, singing and dancing, travel from village to village and offer Zimei rice to boys they like.
Holli, India
Holli is a Hindo (印度教的) festival that marks the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring and is also a time for people to meet, spend time together and repair broken relationships. On the first night people gather in front of a bonfire and pray for their inner evil to be destroyed. The next morning people take to streets and spray colored powder and water to each other.
1. What can we learn from the first two festivals?| A．Naadam Festival has a history of several thousand years. |
| B．Day of the Dead is celebrated in mid-summer every year. |
| C．The celebrations of Naadam Festival have changed over time. |
| D．On Day of the Dead, the dead will visit the land of the living. |
| A．People who like sports. | B．Young men who are unmarried. |
| C．People believing in Hindo. | D．Children enjoying playing with water. |
| A．A travel booklet. | B．A science magazine. |
| C．An academic article. | D．A geography book. |
6 . When we think about lives filled with meaning, we often focus on people whose grand contributions benefited humanity. Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela surely felt they had a worthwhile life. But how about us ordinary people, burying ourselves in a(n)
Many scholars
But we believe there is another element to consider. Think about the first butterfly you stop to admire after a long winter. Sometimes existence delivers us small moments of beauty. When people are
To better understand this form of appreciation, we conducted a series of experiments in which we gave people specific tasks and asked them to report how strongly they
The results confirmed our original theory: people are born with the ability to appreciate beauty, and appreciating small things can make life feel more meaningful. But
| A．adventurous | B．routine | C．active | D．carefree |
| A．add up | B．back up | C．sum up | D．make up |
| A．mental | B．physical | C．existential | D．everyday |
| A．open | B．credited | C．connected | D．close |
| A．patience | B．admiration | C．responsibility | D．support |
| A．gave out | B．relied on | C．referred to | D．identified with |
| A．funny | B．streaming | C．neutral | D．principal |
| A．Undoubtedly | B．Similarly | C．However | D．Therefore |
| A．anxious | B．sorry | C．pity | D．grateful |
| A．visited | B．imagined | C．mentioned | D．researched |
| A．applying | B．revealing | C．seeking | D．analyzing |
| A．research-backed | B．tech-driven | C．family-based | D．goal-oriented |
| A．correct | B．maximize | C．avoid | D．reduce |
| A．modify | B．embrace | C．assess | D．state |
| A．seek | B．transform | C．display | D．stretch |
7 . One of life’s challenging aspects is being in need of assistance and having no one to turn to. For many of us, asking for help is
I noticed that there were many opportunities to volunteer your time to help specific organizations.
Just recently a local resident, Helen, was asked to
Helen
Helping others gives you an opportunity to
| A．typical | B．difficult | C．informal | D．useless |
| A．admitting | B．creating | C．assuming | D．admiring |
| A．Besides | B．Otherwise | C．Therefore | D．However |
| A．job | B．base | C．gap | D．form |
| A．lock | B．count | C．gather | D．move |
| A．forced | B．trained | C．taught | D．inspired |
| A．along with | B．apart from | C．due to | D．instead of |
| A．deliver | B．replace | C．seek | D．lose |
| A．accounting | B．searching | C．applying | D．weeping |
| A．appeal | B．exposure | C．access | D．reference |
| A．mentioned | B．contacted | C．supported | D．joined |
| A．willing | B．grateful | C．afraid | D．responsible |
| A．appointment | B．performance | C．experience | D．achievement |
| A．judge | B．change | C．record | D．compare |
| A．learn from | B．wait for | C．smile at | D．depend on |
8 . Michael Faraday was an English chemist and physicist born in a working class on 22 September 1791. Faraday’s father suffered from long-term health problems that often impeded his work. As a result, Faraday’s family had little money and Faraday got a very little formal schooling. But Faraday had an active curiosity and determination to learn. While working in London as a teenager, he had access to a wide range of books and he read everything he could get his hands on. By doing a lot of reading, Faraday soon educated himself on many scientific subjects, and his life as a scientist began.
In 1812, Faraday attended four lectures at the Royal Institution given by a famous chemist named Humphrey Davy. Afterwards Faraday sent a letter to Davy, expressing a strong interest in the subjects covered in the lectures and offering his services as a lab assistant. A year later, Davy accepted Faraday as his lab assistant. Thanks to his work with Davy, Faraday got a complete scientific education.
He soon began to research and experiments with electricity. Although his time was mostly spent helping Davy, Faraday began to work on his own as a chemist and scientist of great importance. When Davy retired in 1827, Faraday took his place as the head of the chemistry department of the Royal Institute. Upon taking up the position he could focus on his own research, and Faraday’s most influential and celebrated work began in the 1830s. In 1831, he discovered electromagnetic induction(电磁感应), a breakthrough in the field of technology. In 1846 he gave a lecture that presented important ideas about the nature of electricity, and these later inspired the historical work of James Maxwell related to electromagnetic field theory.
1. What does the underlined word “impeded” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Stopped. | B．Saved. | C．Changed. | D．Increased. |
| A．He didn’t go to school. | B．He lived a carefree life. |
| C．He learned science on his own. | D．He got much help from his parents. |
| A．To earn more money. | B．To show respect for Davy. |
| C．To learn more about Davy. | D．To learn more about science. |
| A．The help Davy gave to Faraday. | B．The turning point in Faraday’s life. |
| C．Faraday’s academic achievement. | D．Faraday’s influence on James Maxwell. |
9 . A new study suggests that mindfulness education — lessons on techniques to calm the mind and body — can reduce the negative effects of stress and increase students’ ability to stay engaged, helping them stay on track academically and avoid behavior problems.
After finding that students who self-reported mindful habits performed better on tests and had higher grades, researchers from the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University wanted to know if school-based mindfulness training could help more students reap similar benefits.
They designed a study focusing on sixth-graders in a Boston school. The study showed that sixth-graders who participated in an eight-week mindfulness were less stressed out than their classmates who hadn’t. Practicing mindfulness had helped improve the ability to focus in the moment, expanding students’ capacity to learn and regulate their emotions.
Four times a week, instructors from Calmer Choice, a Massachusetts nonprofit specializing in mindfulness education, taught the group techniques and led them through practices, like focusing on a rock for a minute, then discussing when their mind wandered and refocused on the rock. Another group of sixth-graders took computer coding during that time instead. The students were randomly assigned between the groups.
At the end of the eight weeks, the mindfulness group reported being less stressed than they had been before the mindfulness education, and better able to practice self-control. And their amygdalae, the part of the brain that controls emotion, responded less to pictures of fearful faces than they did prior to the mindfulness work, suggesting their brains were less sensitive to negative stimuli, or, in other words, that they were less likely to get stressed out and lose focus. The group who attended coding classes didn’t see the same benefits.
The findings suggest that the mindfulness instruction helped boost students’ attention skills, as well as develop coping mechanisms for stress. The researchers believe it could be especially useful for schools to support students suffering from severe mental damage and other adversities that trigger stress in the body, hurting students’ ability to succeed.
1. What was the purpose of the study?| A．To examine the techniques for practicing mindfulness. |
| B．To study the effects of group mindfulness training on students. |
| C．To see how students help themselves to perform better on tests. |
| D．To understand why mindfulness training calms the mind and body. |
| A．By listing benefits of mindfulness education. |
| B．By scanning the brain to see how it controls emotions. |
| C．By teaching different students different mindfulness skills. |
| D．By comparing two groups of students attending different classes. |
| A．They felt easier to stay focused. | B．They were better at computer coding. |
| C．Their mind was wandering more actively. | D．Their brains were more aware of negativity. |
| A．Stressful parents. | B．Mindful instructors. |
| C．Emotional students. | D．School educators. |
10 . It isn’t just the beauty of vast natural wonders like the Grand Canyon that can take your breath away. You can find awe (敬畏) in everyday things. A new research, published in the journal Emotion, found that older adults who took “awe walks” felt more positive emotions in their daily lives.
In the study, 52 older adults aged 60 to 90 were divided randomly into two groups. They were told to take at least one 15-minute walk each week for eight weeks. Volunteers in the “awe group” were instructed in how to inspire awe as they walked. “We asked them to try to see the world with fresh eyes—to take in new details of a leaf or flower, for example,” Sturm says. For example, one participant from the awe group wrote about “the beautiful fall colors and how the leaves were no longer crunchy (嘎吱响) underfoot because of the rain”—the wonder that small children feel as they embrace (拥抱) their expanding world. However, people in the other group were less focused on the world around them. One participant wrote, “I thought about our vacation in Hawaii next Thursday.”
In addition, participants were asked to take selfies in the beginning, middle, and end of each walk. Researchers found that participants who took awe walks showed a “small self”, in which they filled less of their photographs with their own image and more with the background scenery. “When we feel awe, our attention shifts from focusing on ourselves to focusing on the world around us,” Sturm says. “Awe affects our social relationships because it helps us to feel more connected with the world, universe, and other people.” Their smiles also grew broader by the end of the study. “We analyzed the degrees of their smiles in the selfies, and participants who took awe walks displayed greater smiles over time than those who took control walks. The former reported greater positive emotions in general, including more joy and gratitude.”
Participants in the control group took more frequent walks than those people in the awe group, the researchers discovered. But walking more didn’t result in positive changes in emotional health or in the way their selfies were taken. This suggests that the results were mainly due to experiencing awe, and not just in spending time exercising.
1. What were participants in the “awe group” required to do in Paragraph 2?| A．To take a walk each week. | B．To focus on their inner world. |
| C．To collect leaves after the rain. | D．To explore with childlike curiosity. |
| A．Close-up images with wide smiles. | B．More attention to themselves. |
| C．Merely the background scenery. | D．Small figures with bigger smiles. |
| A．Experiencing awe matters. | B．More walks, more joy. |
| C．Exercises can benefit us. | D．Awe comes with walking. |
| A．Awe Walks Promote Your Physical Fitness. | B．Experiencing Awe Does Wonders for Everyone. |
| C．Awe Walks Improve Your Positive Emotions. | D．Frequent Walks Contribute to Emotional Health. |
