1 . A recent study by a group of researchers found that there is a link between happiness and a term that the researchers coined called “relational diversity.”
Using public data from sources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the World Health Organization, the researchers were able to analyze data sets and survey responses from people who had shared their daily habits, schedules and interactions. They noticed a clear relationship between relational diversity and overall levels of satisfaction.
Hanne Collins, a Harvard Business School doctoral student who co-authored the study, says that relational diversity is composed of two elements: richness and evenness.
Richness measures relationship categories, or how many kinds of people you interact with in a day. That could be your romantic partner, a family member, a neighbor or a stranger. “The more relationship categories they talk to in a day and the more even their conversations are across those categories, the happier they are. And we find this in a large sample across many countries,” Collins said.
Evenness relates to the distribution of conversations among those different relationship categories. Some people may find themselves interacting with colleagues at work more than, say, their family members. “If you have a few conversations with colleagues, a few with friends, a few with a romantic partner or a couple chats with strangers, thats going to be more even across these categories,” Collins explained.
Ultimately, Collins says, the study gives insight to the idea that humans are social creatures at heart. Having a support system is important, but it goes beyond your inner circle. “Its about this mix. Its about connecting with people who are close to you, who are maybe less close to you, who connect you with other people, who provide different kinds of support,” she said. “Essentially, the idea is that the more diverse your social portfolio (社交档案), the happier you are and the higher your well-being.”
Next time you consider striking up a conversation with a stranger in line at the grocery store or while waiting at the coffee shop, keep in mind that it might be beneficial to your well-being.
1. How does the author explain the term “relational diversity”?| A．By listing statistics. | B．By making comparison. |
| C．By giving definitions and examples. | D．By describing the process. |
| A．A person who interacts most with his family members. |
| B．A person who communicates frequently with his friends. |
| C．A person who seldom strikes up conversations with strangers. |
| D．A person who has ever conversations with many different people. |
| A．Researchers came up with a new concept. |
| B．It shows that a support system is not necessary. |
| C．Researchers collected data by conducting experiments. |
| D．It was led by a doctoral student from Harvard Business School. |
| A．Neutral. | B．Skeptical. |
| C．Opposed. | D．Approving. |
2 . At eleven, I decided to learn to swim. There was a pool at the YMCA offering exactly the opportunity. My mother continually warned against it, and kept fresh in my mind the details of each drowning in the river. But the YMCA pool was safe.
I had a childhood fear of water. This started when I was three years old and my father took me to the beach.The huge waves knocked me down and swept over me.
The pool was quiet. I was afraid of going in all alone, so I sat on one side of the pool to wait for others. Then came a big boy. He yelled, “Hi, how’d you like to be ducked?” With that he picked me up and threw me into the deep end.I landed in a sitting position, and swallowed water. But I was not frightened out of my wits—when my feet hit the bottom, I would make a big jump to come out of the surface. It seemed a long way down. I gathered all my strength when I landed and made what I thought was a great spring upwards. Then I opened my eyes and saw nothing but water. I tried to yell but no sound came out. I went down, down, endlessly.
When I came to consciousness, I found myself lying on the bed in the hospital.
I never went back to the pool. I avoided water whenever I could. This misadventure stayed with me as the years rolled by.It deprived(剥夺) me of the joy of boating and swimming. Finally, I decided to get an instructor. Piece by piece, he built a swimmer. Several months later, the instructor was finished, but I was not .Sometimes the terror would return.
This went on until July. I swam across the Lake Went worth.Only once did the terror return. When I was in the middle of the lake, I put my face under and saw nothing but bottomless water. I laughed and said, “Well, Mr Terror, what do you think you can do to me?” I had conquered my fear of water.
1. What was the author’s original fear of water caused by?| A．His poor skill in swimming. |
| B．His mother’s warning of drowning. |
| C．An outing to the beach with his father. |
| D．An unpleasant memory of the pool. |
| A．He knew how to swim in the pool. |
| B．He felt that the YMCA pool was safe. |
| C．He was waiting for others to save him. |
| D．He came up with an idea to go upwards. |
| A．He was still a poor swimmer. |
| B．He had not overcome the fear yet. |
| C．He was not afraid of drowning any more. |
| D．He was not satisfied with the swimming training. |
| A．Goodbye,Mr Terror |
| B．Hello,Childhood Fear |
| C．A Swimming Adventure |
| D．My Passion for Swimming |
3 . The idea of low material desire, low consumption and refusing to work, marry and have children, concluded as a “lying down” lifestyle, recently struck a chord with many young Chinese who are eager to take pause to breathe in this fast-paced and highly-competitive society.
Many millennials (千禧一代) and generation Zs complained to the Global Times that burdens, including work stress, family disputes and financial strains, have pushed them “against the wall”. They said they hate the “involution(内卷),” joking that they would rather give up some of what they have than get trapped in an endless competition against peers.
“Instead of always following the ‘virtues’ of struggle, endure and sacrifice to bear the stresses, they prefer a temporary lying down as catharsis (宣泄) and adjustment,” said a scholar. “It is no wonder that some young people, under the growing pressures from child-raising to paying the mortgage (按揭) today, would try to live in a simple way and leave the worries behind.”
Interestingly, the majority of millennials and Gen Zs reached by the Global Times, who claim to be big fans of the lying down philosophy, acknowledged that they only accept a temporary lying down as a short rest. It is true that with the great improvement of living conditions, some Chinese youth have partially lost the spirit of hardship and are not willing to bear too much hard work. But in fact, lying down is not entirely comfortable. Young people who lie down always feel guilty about their constant loss of morale (士气) far beyond their reach.
“Young people on campus have both aspirations and confusion about their future, but most of us have rejected setting ourselves up in chains to waste opportunities and challenges,” a postgraduate student told the Global Times. “It’s no use running away. I have to ‘stand up’ and face the reality sooner or later.”
1. What does the underlined phrase in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Warned. | B．Punished. | C．Amused. | D．Touched. |
| A．Improvements in living conditions. |
| B．Growing pressure from family and social life. |
| C．Increasing material possessions from families. |
| D．Temporary adjustment to failure in competitions. |
| A．Understanding. | B．Intolerant. | C．Supportive. | D．Unclear. |
| A．They never really drop their responsibilities. |
| B．They really enjoy the “lying down” lifestyle. |
| C．They find their dreams far beyond their reach. |
| D．They would rather escape than take challenges. |
4 . By drawing patterns on the surface of a cup of tea, chabaixi, an ancient Chinese tea trick displayed in a recent TV drama, has gone viral for its apparent similarity with modern latte art (咖啡拉花艺术). However, ten years ago, this distinctive technique was close to disappearing completely. Zhang Zhifeng, a practitioner of chabaixi, found scenes of chabaixi in the drama aroused great interest among ordinary people.
Chabaixi can create endless patterns such as bamboos and mountains or even calligraphy. There are over a dozen steps, from grinding (碾碎) tea for fine powder, to pouring boiled water, stirring the mixture for thick froth, and finally drawing the patterns. It is different from making latte because people use clear water as the object to put into the cup instead of milk. But when the water touches the surface of whipped (搅打起泡沫的) tea, it turns into a white color and disappears in 20 minutes. The process before the drawing is known as the tea-making technique, diancha. The quality of diancha is crucial to whether patterns can be successfully produced later.
“Chabaixi is one of the countless forms of tea-making techniques in China. The importance of chabaixi is not only that this technique is unique in the world, but also it gives us a window into people’s lifestyle in the Song Dynasty, a period of time when leisure activities in some ways resemble what we have now,” Zhang said.
Before chabaixi was discovered by TV audiences, the technique was listed as part of China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017, after it was recovered by Zhang Zhifeng. He started researching the origins of chabaixi in the 1980s and brought the technique back in 2009 after decades of trials and practice. Zhang spent nearly 30 years studying and researching the origins and making of tea, but for him it was all worthwhile.
“This technique is key to the tea culture of the Song Dynasty, and it would be a shame to let it fade. This technique must be passed on to the next generations so they can understand its history,” Zhang said.
1. What do the underlined words “gone viral” probably mean?| A．Received good protection. | B．Maintained highly competitive. |
| C．Started declining gradually. | D．Become popular quickly. |
| A．It is painted with whipped milk. |
| B．It involves complicated tea-making skills. |
| C．It mainly describes beautiful scenery. |
| D．It develops based on latte art. |
| A．The significance of chabaixi. | B．The uniqueness of chabaixi. |
| C．The origin of chabaixi. | D．The development of chabaixi. |
| A．He teaches people the tea culture of the Song Dynasty. |
| B．He is leading young generations to innovate chabaixi. |
| C．He is committed to developing chabaixi through media. |
| D．He encourages people to pass on the technique of chabaixi. |
5 . It is that time of the year, when a handful of world’s leading scholars, social activists and researchers are rewarded with what is often cited as the most prestigious acknowledgement of human effort-the Nobel Prize. Here’s a look at who has won the prize and for what.
Physiology or Medicine
Swedish geneticist Svante Peabo won the first Nobel of the year, for starting the field of ancient DNA studies. He is well-known for extracting, sequencing, and analyzing ancient DNA from Neanderthal bones.
Physics
Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger’s work in quantum (量子) technology landed them the second Nobel Prize announced in 2022. Although Aspect is from France, Clauser from the U.S, and Zeilinger from Austria, the three separately performed “groundbreaking experiments” as one team. “Their results have cleared the way for new technology,” the committee stated.
Chemistry
The Nobel Prize for chemistry went to another trio, Carolyn R. Bertozzi from the U.S., Morten Meldal from Denmark and K. Barry Sharpless from the U.S. “for the development of click chemistry and biorthogonal chemistry,” the committee stated. Dr. Bertozzi is the eighth woman chemist to be awarded the prize, while Dr. Sharpless is the fifth scientist to be awarded two Nobel Prizes.
Economics
The Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to three American economists, Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig “for research on banks and financial crises,” the Nobel Prize committee announced on Monday. By studying the history of American economics, particularly the Great Depression of the 1930s,they improved how we understand the role of banks during times of hardship and the bank’s impact on societal functions.
1. What prize is related to the research with bones?| A．Physiology. | B．Chemistry. | C．Physics. | D．Economics. |
| A．About societal functions. | B．About the history of America. |
| C．About banks and financial crises. | D．About the Great Depression of the 1930s. |
| A．Their winners are from different countries. | B．They have three winners. |
| C．They improve new technology. | D．They help people understand hardship. |
6 . Communication Tips
Here are some suggestions about making your talk with your parents turn out for the best.
Be honest.
If you’re always honest, your parents will be likely to believe what you say. If you sometimes hide the truth, parents will have a harder time to believe what you tell them.
Be brave and start talking.
It’s easy to say “Hi, Mum” or “Dad, can you pass the potatoes?”
If you have a disagreement, can you consider things from your parents’ points of view? If you can, telling your parents you understand their views and feelings helps them be willing to understand yours, too.
Try not to argue.
Using a friendly and respectful tone makes your parents more likely to listen to you and take what you say seriously.
What if it doesn’t work? If you still can’t talk to your parents, seek other adults’ help.
| A．Explain your situation. |
| B．Try to understand them. |
| C．If you lie, they’ll find it hard to trust you. |
| D．Parents are the most important people in your life. |
| E．But it can be harder to start talking about personal topics. |
| F．It also makes it more likely that they’ll talk to you in the same way. |
| G．Find a relative or a teacher who will listen to, understand and care about you. |
7 . Physical education, or PE, isn’t required for all high school students. In some schools, it isn’t offered for some different reasons. But should high school students have physical education? The answer is certainly “yes”.
Today many people don’t do sports. But as is known to all, doing sports is very important for an adult. Teaching teens the importance of a healthy lifestyle and making fitness plans now can help teens put exercise in the first place as an adult.
High school isn’t that easy. Many students are under a lot of stress. Stress can be harmful to a student’s study and life. Doing sports can help them deal with stress better, helping them live a happier life at school.
The American Heart Association says that 10 million kids and teens suffer from obesity (肥胖症). Teens should get 60 minutes of physical activity per day to control their weight and to help their bones get stronger. The increase in activities that don’t get teens to move around, such as video games and computer activities, means many teens don’t get their required exercise. PE classes act as a public health measure to encourage physical activities and help teens have healthy weights.
Not doing sports increases teens’ risk of developing many diseases. An active lifestyle offers a good way of protection from these health problems. As much as 75 percent of health-care spending goes toward treating medical conditions that can be hindered by lifestyle changes,according to the American College of Sports Medicine.
According to the President’s Council on Fitness,Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN), students who performed five hours of physical activity each week improved their academic (学业的) performance. Students from programs with no physical activity, who used the extra time for classroom study, did not perform better on tests than those who gave up some study time in support of physical education.
1. According to paragraph 2, what does physical education in high school mean?| A．Making teens attach importance to exercise later. |
| B．Removing the stress faced by teens at school. |
| C．Getting teens to encourage adults to exercise. |
| D．Helping teens learn to make good plans. |
| A．Measured. | B．Prevented. |
| C．Shown. | D．Caused. |
| A．means making students choose between sports and studies |
| B．helps students make good use of all their time |
| C．means students adjust to their studies better |
| D．helps students do better in their studies |
| A．Why high school students should receive physical education. |
| B．Why some schools consider physical education important. |
| C．How schools can help students love doing sports. |
| D．How high school students can live a better life. |
8 . The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was established in 1958, which has many famous tourist attractions.
Shapotou, Zhongwei
Shapotou scenic zone, 16 kilometers west of Zhongwei County in the northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, has become a must-see for tourists who visit Ningxia. Wang Wei, a famous poet in ancient China, recorded the beauty of Shapotou in a poem on a mission to the frontier.
The park has many activities on offer, which include drifting on the Yellow River and sliding from a sand dune.
Scenic Spot Level: AAAAA
Ideal Sightseeing Season: May to early October
Ticket Price: 80 yuan ($11.7)
Half Price:
①Minors between the ages of 7 and 18;
②Full-time university bachelor or junior degree students with a registered student ID card.
Shahu Lake, Shizuishan
Shahu Lake, one of the top 10 destinations for holidays in Shizuishan city, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in Northwest China, is surrounded by large marshlands(沼泽) and desert, and is known as the “pearl of the desert” along the Silk Road. The location of the 1995 movie A Chinese Odyssey attracts many visitors.
Scenic Spot Level: AAAAA
Ideal Sightseeing Season: May to early October
Ticket Price: 50 yuan ($7.32)
Half Price:
①Minors between the ages of 7 and 18;
②Full-time university bachelor or junior degree students with a registered student ID card.
Mingcui Lake National Wetland Park, Yinchuan
Nfingcui Lake National Wetland Park is perhaps the best ecological wetland in China. It is the first national wetland park of the Yellow River Basin. The first established and expanding water and land sports base in the northwest integrates outdoor training, science education, leisure and fishing.
Scenic Spot Level: AAAAA
Ideal Sightseeing Season: March to May
Ticket Price: 40 yuan ($5.9)
HalfPrice: Full-time university bachelor or junior degree students with a registered student ID card.
Zhenbeipu Western Film Studio, Yinchuan
Zhenbeipu Western Film Studio, located in Yinchuan city, capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, has produced many world-famous films, one of which is Zhang Yimou’s Red Sorghum.
Zhenbeipu functioned as a frontier in the Ming Dynasty, but today, the studio has become a tourism destination fully integrating sightseeing, entertainment, relaxation, dining and shopping.
Scenic Spot Level: AAAAA
Ideal Sightseeing Season: Late April to early October
Ticket Price: 80 yuan ($11.7)
Half Price: Full-time university bachelor or junior degree students with a roistered student ID card.
1. How much should a couple with a full-time university bachelor pay for travelling to Shapotou?| A．80 yuan. | B．120 yuan. | C．160 yuan. | D．200 yuan. |
| A．Shapotou, Zhongwei. |
| B．Shahu Lake, Shizuishan. |
| C．Mingcui Lake National Wetland Park, Yinchuan. |
| D．Zhenbeipu Western Film Studio, Yinchuan. |
| A．A research paper. | B．A travel brochure. |
| C．A science journal. | D．A geography textbook. |
9 . A famous magazine, Amusement Today, does a survey among park lovers every year both in the US and overseas, based on which, “Top 5 List of the Best Amusement Parks in the World” has come out as follows:
Disneyland, California
Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California, the US. More than 515 million guests have traveled to this American landmark from around the world since the park first opened to guests on July 17, 1955. The park consists of many world-famous sections, such as Main Street, Adventure land, New Orleans Square, and so on.
Magic Kingdom, Disney World, Florida
Magic Kingdom is a theme park within the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando opened on October 1, 1971. It is the most famous theme park in Florida. The park’s design and attractions don’t make much difference from Disneyland Park in Anaheim.
EPCOT, Disney World, Florida
EPCOT is the second theme park built at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. The park opened on October 1, 1982, and was named EPCOT Center from 1982 to 1993. It was the largest Disney theme park in the world until 1998, when Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened.
DisneyMGM Studios, Florida
MGM’s streets are the home for some great moviethemed attractions with a history of less than 30 years. With the addition of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rock and Roller Coaster, the park is now home to Disney World’s most thrilling rides.
Universal Studios, Florida
Go behind the scenes, beyond the screen and jump right into the action of your favorite movies at Universal Studios, the number one movie and TV theme park in the world.
1. Which of the following theme parks have similar attractions?| A．Disneyland & Magic Kingdom. |
| B．Disneyland & Universal Studios. |
| C．EPCOT & DisneyMGM Studios. |
| D．Magic Kingdom & Universal Studios. |
| A．Magic Kingdom, Disney World, Florida. |
| B．DisneyMGM Studios, Florida. |
| C．EPCOT, Disney World, Florida. |
| D．Disneyland, California. |
| A．To attract tourists to these theme parks. |
| B．To increase the sales of Amusement Today. |
| C．To introduce world’s best amusement parks. |
| D．To compare attractions in different theme parks. |
10 . A British friend told me he couldn’t understand why Chinese people love eating sunflower seeds (嗑瓜子) as a snack so much. “I’ve met a lot of older Chinese and many have a crack in their front teeth, I believe that’s from cracking the seeds,” he said.
I had never noticed the habit, but once he mentioned it, I suddenly became more aware. I realized that whenever I’m watching TV or typing a report, I always start mindlessly cracking sunflower seeds. My friend doesn’t like sunflower seeds, and, to him, it seems unnecessary to work so much just to get one small seed.
When we were young, the whole family would usually get together for Chinese New Year. Then, we all lived close to one another, usually in a small city, and sometimes even neighbors would go door-to-door on Chinese New Year’s Eve to check out what every family was making.
I remember my parents would be in the kitchen cooking. Out in the living room, a large table would already be laid out, complete with fancy tablecloth, ready-made dumpling fillings, and dishes full of candy, fruits and sunflower seeds. Some of the dishes were to be offered to our ancestors later, while others were for neighbors and children to eat before the evening feast. I must have learned how to crack sunflower seeds back then.
I don’t think it’s right to criticize (批评) one’s choice in food or eating habits, no matter how strange they may seem.
It’s not only in China. When I went abroad, I found people had all sorts of strange habits when it came to food. In Denmark, they put salted red fish on bread and eat it for dinner, no matter how much it ruins your breath. They think it’s delicious, and it’s connected to their certain culture. I think it’s a wonderful tradition.
1. Why can the British friend not understand when he found Chinese love eating sunflower seeds?| A．Because the seeds are too hard to crack. |
| B．Because he thinks they are harmful to teeth. |
| C．Because he doesn’t think the seeds are worth eating. |
| D．Because he doesn’t think the seeds are good. |
| A．The families get together for it. | B．Children can eat delicious food on that day. |
| C．The traditions of celebrating it disappear. | D．Eating sunflower seeds is related to it. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Negative. | C．Understandable. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．Eating habits come from a certain culture. |
| B．It is good to form healthy eating habits. |
| C．Changing your eating habits will change your life. |
| D．One kind of food doesn’t necessarily suit everyone. |
