1 . Do you know how to be a proud traveller? The following can tell you.
• Travellers get excited and a bit nervous before travel.Nervousness is typical of travellers. It does not matter whether the person travels once a year or far more frequently.
To plan trips is an exciting activity; however, once you have planned everything, get ready to break all your plans in case that things go wrong or not the way you expected them to go!
• Travellers may start a trip alone, but they end up with friends all over the world.People travel for a variety of reasons. People who stay in a foreign country need to challenge themselves in a variety of ways.
While travelling be prepared to see the real living around the globe. You will see that there are people who struggle to survive.
| A．Travelling is good to our health. |
| B．Travelling makes people excited and expectation makes our blood boil. |
| C．It’s hard to travel without meeting strangers. |
| D．Travellers love to make plans, but they also like to break them. |
| E．They learn new languages, meet new people and try to get to know new cultures. |
| F．The travelling plan is very important to the travellers when they go out for travelling. |
| G．At the same time, there are plenty of those who can afford the most necessary things. |
2 . For high school leavers starting out in the working world, it is very important to learn particular skills and practise how to behave in an interview or how to find all internships(实习). In some countries, schools have programmes to help students onto the path to work. In the United States, however, such programmes are still few and far between.
Research shows that if high schools provide career-related courses, students are likely to get higher earnings in later years.The students are more likely to stay in school, graduate and go on to higher education.
In Germany, students as young as 13 and 14 are expected to do internships. German companies work with schools to make sure that young people get the education they need for future employment.
But in America, education reform programmes focus on how well students do in exams instead of bringing them into contact with the working world. Harvard Education School professor Robert Schwartz has criticised education reformers for trying to place all graduates directly on the four-year college track. Schwartz argued that this approach leaves the country’s most vulnerable(易受影响的)kids with no jobs and no skills.
Schwartz believed that the best career programmes encourage kids to go for higher education while also teaching them valuable practical skills at high school. James Madison High School in New York, for example, encourages students to choose classes on career-based courses. The school then helps them gain on-the-job experience in those fields while they’re still at high school.
However, even for teens whose schools encourage them to connect with work, the job market is daunting. In the US, unemployment rates for 16 to 19-year-olds are above 20 percent for the third summer in a row.
“The risk is that if teenagers miss out on the summer job experience, they become part of this generation of teens who had trouble in landing a job,” said Michael, a researcher in the US.
1. In the author’s opinion, American high school leavers .| A．have enough career-related courses | B．need more career advice from their schools |
| C．perform better in exams than German students | D．can get higher earnings in later years |
| A．there is no need for kids to go for higher education in the US |
| B．students should get contact with the working world at high school |
| C．education reform should focus on students’ performance in exams |
| D．teenagers in the US can’t miss out on the summer job experience |
| A．Unemployment rates for US teenagers remain high at the moment. |
| B．Students with career-based courses never have problems finding a job. |
| C．US companies work with schools to prepare young people for future employment. |
| D．High school leavers with no practical skills can’t find a job absolutely. |
3 . Classical music is one of the most complex, and beautiful forms of music. It can be enjoyed by people of all ages, and can be appreciated in many different ways.
Once you have a basic understanding of these elements, you can start to appreciate classical music on a deeper level.
Finally, classical music can be appreciated through its history and culture. Learning about the musicians, the pieces, and the different movements in classical music can help you understand and appreciate it more.
| A．One way to do this is by listening to it more closely. |
| B．If you are a music enthusiast, you might have heard the term; music appreciation. |
| C．There are also many books and articles about classical music that can help. |
| D．It is important to first understand the different elements that make it up. |
| E．The secret to classical music is; it’s just music. |
| F．Harmony is created by two or more melodies playing together. |
| G．You can also appreciate classical music by watching it being performed. |
4 . Cultural heritage is an essential part of our identity, history and traditions. It includes buildings, monuments, artworks, books, music and other artefacts.
So, what can we do to protect our cultural heritage? The first step is to raise awareness about its importance. People need to understand that cultural heritage is not just a collection of old things.
Another way to protect cultural heritage is through legislation.
Education plays a crucial role in preserving cultural heritage. Schools and universities can teach students about the value of cultural heritage and how to care for it
Technology can be a useful tool in protecting cultural heritage. Digitization allows us to preserve and share cultural artefacts with a wider audience, while also reducing the risk of damage or loss. Virtual reality can also be used to recreate historical sites and buildings, allowing people to experience them in a new and immersive way.
| A．Historic buildings are climate friendly. |
| B．It is also a symbol of our cultural diversity and creativity. |
| C．Protecting cultural heritage requires a collective effort. |
| D．To be kept alive, cultural heritage must be related to its community. |
| E．This non-renewable treasure should be passed down from one generation to another. |
| F．Governments can establish laws and regulations to protect historic sites, buildings and artifacts. |
| G．Museums and other cultural institutions can offer exhibitions and events that show the importance of cultural heritage. |
5 . It’s a well-known fact that volunteering brings positive changes to communities.
Volunteering has positive effects on our physical health too.
You could also volunteer at a museum.
Volunteering teaches you skills that can come in handy for your future career, and of course, it will keep you healthy both mentally and physically.
| A．But do you know that volunteers themselves can benefit from it too? |
| B．It lowers our stress level and blood pressure, thus contributing to a long life. |
| C．Volunteering really is one of the most rewarding things you can do in your free time. |
| D．One study indicates that the people who often volunteer are less likely to achieve success. |
| E．Places like this often rely on volunteers to provide services such as supplying visitors with information. |
| F．In one British study participants who had volunteered often reported feeling more satisfied with their lives than those who had not. |
| G．If you’re ready to do some volunteer work but don’t know where to begin, you’ll be glad to know there are plenty of choices out there. |
6 . The sun is setting, brightening your kids’ faces as they play in the waves. You reach for your phone for this perfect moment. But before you do, here’s a bit of surprising science: Taking photos is not the perfect way to keep memory as you think.
Taking too many pictures could actually harm the brain’s ability to keep memories, says Elizabeth Loftus, a psychology professor at the University of California. So, we get the photo but kind of lose the memory. Photography “outsources” memories. It works in two ways: We either shake off the responsibility of remembering moments when taking pictures, or we’re so distracted (分心的) by the process that we miss the moment altogether. The first explanation is the loss of memory. People know that their camera is recording that moment, so they don’t try to remember. The other is distraction. We’re distracted by the process of taking a photo — how we hold our phone, composing the photo, such as smiling faces, the background to our liking and clear image, all of which use up our attention that could otherwise help us memorize.
However, taking photos can help memory when done mindfully. While taking a photo may be distracting, the act of preparation by focusing on visual details around has the opposite. When people take the time to take clear pictures, memories become strengthened.
Another advantage is that we recall moments more exactly with the photos. Memory has been reshaped with the help of new information and new experiences. Thus, photos or videos help us recall moments as if they really happened. Memories die away without a visual record backing them up. Therefore, a photo is an excellent tool to help remember when done purposefully, which is worth exploring further.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To present the topic. | B．To show the background. |
| C．To provide an example. | D．To make an argument. |
| A．Taking photos is helpful for us to memorize. |
| B．Photos are more detailed than memories. |
| C．Many sources influence people’s memories during photo-taking. |
| D．People depend more on photos to remember than their brains. |
| A．When taking photos is better. | B．How to use photo-taking to memorize better. |
| C．How to stay focused while taking photos. | D．When distraction is likely to happen. |
| A．Photography Does Help to Memories |
| B．Too Many Photos Taken Result in Poor Memories |
| C．Remember the Moment and Take Photos Properly |
| D．The Fewer Photos We Take, the Better We Will Remember |
7 . When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.
Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note — “Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery” — and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically (魔术般) appear.
All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn’t freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.
There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.
Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch (门廊) . Every so often my son’s friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.
1. Mr. Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer to __________.| A．show his magical power | B．pay for the delivery |
| C．satisfy his curiosity | D．please his mother |
| A．He wanted to have tea there. | B．He was a respectable person. |
| C．He was treated as a family member. | D．He was fully trusted by the family. |
| A．Nobody wants to be a milkman now. | B．It has been driven out of the market. |
| C．Its service is getting poor. | D．It is not allowed by law. |
| A．He missed the good old days. | B．He wanted to tell interesting stories. |
| C．He needed it for his milk bottles. | D．He planted flowers in it. |
8 . 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. |
9 . We all know that unpleasant feeling when we’re talking about something interesting and halfway through our sentence we’re interrupted(打断). But was that really an interruption? The answer depends on whom you ask, according to new research led by Katherine Hilton from Stanford University.
Using a set of controlled audio clips, Hilton surveyed 5,000 American English speakers to better understand what affects people’s perceptions(认知)of interruptions. She had participants listen to audio clips and then answer questions about whether the speakers seemed to be friendly and engaged, listening to one another, or trying to interrupt.
Hilton found that American English speakers have different conversational styles. She identified two groups: high and low intensity speakers. High intensity speakers are generally uncomfortable with moments of silence in conversation and consider talking at the same time a sign of engagement. Low intensity speakers find it rude to talk at the same time and prefer people speak one after another in conversation:
The differences in conversational styles became obvious when participants listened to audio clips in which two people spoke at the same time but were agreeing with each other and stayed on topic, Hilton said. The high intensity group reported that conversations where people spoke at the same time when expressing agreement were not interruptive but engaged and friendlier than the conversations with moments of silence in between speaking turns. In contrast, the low intensity group perceived any amount of simultaneous (同时) chat as a rude interruption, regardless of what the speakers were saying.
“People care about being interrupted, and those smalt interruptions can have a massive effect on the overall communication,” Hilton said. “Breaking apart what an interruption means is essential if we want to understand how humans interact with each other.”
1. What does Hilton’s research focus on?| A．What interruptions mean to people. | B．Where interruptions are accepted. |
| C．How to avoid getting interrupted | D．Why speakers interrupt each other. |
| A．Record an audio clip. | B．Answer some questions. |
| C．Listen to one another. | D．Have a chat with a friend. |
| A．It’s important. | B．It’s interesting. | C．It’s inefficient. | D．It’s impolite. |
| A．Conversational styles affect perceptions of interruptions. |
| B．Communication is the very basis of our everyday life. |
| C．Interruptions during conversations contribute to thinking. |
| D．Language barriers will always exist regardless of the content. |
10 . The biggest risk I’ve ever taken was quitting my job and biking alone across western China.
One of the best parts of the whole experience was the people. I met people from across China and once got to attend a Tibetan wedding-something I never thought I would do.
The people were some of the best parts of the trip, but mostly each day, I was alone with nature. Throughout the rolling hills and the flowing streams, western China is home to some of the most amazing scenery in the world.
It was indeed an experience I will never forget. If anyone has an interest in traveling, I would highly recommend going by bicycle!
| A．It simply took my breath away. |
| B．My family were shocked and tried to talk me out of it. |
| C．The food was definitely another highlight of my journey. |
| D．I had never biked for more than two hours in one day before. |
| E．It really inspired me to push myself and go farther every day. |
| F．Traveling by bicycle was actually much cheaper than I thought. |
| G．The whole event was extraordinary, full of dancing, laughter and fun. |
