1 . Imagine two applicants are in a job interview: one expresses a great passion for the work, while the other points to family encouragement to pursue that field. Which applicant has a better chance of succeeding? Conventional wisdom suggests it would be the one who has a strong personal passion.
Passion is not a universally powerful basis of achievement, but the culture a person grew up in matters a lot. That means universities and companies that frequently rely on passion in candidates are pretermitting talented students and employees.
It seems that passion is a much stronger predictor of achievement in certain societies than others. “This leads to a blind spot among interviewers and is unfair to people from diverse backgrounds,” said Xingyu Li, the lead author of a new study. As a person coming from a collectivist (集体主义的) society, he knows exactly how people feel when they are rejected just because they are seemingly not as passionate as others. This research is novel for its using big data to compare a wider range of culturally diverse societies.
The researchers collected the data including scores from 1.2 million high school students across 59 countries. They found those who felt passionate about science, reading, or other subjects were more likely to be given better scores. This is quite true in individualist societies such as the United States and Australia, compared with collectivist countries such as China, Thailand, and Colombia, where the students felt that having family support for their interest was important.
Individualist countries regard the self as the source of motivation. For example, in the United States, doing well because of what others expect might seem to be evidence of a lack of potential. In collectivist societies, the self is inter-dependent, part of a web of relations, roles, and responsibilities. For instance, in the movie The Grandmaster, the legendary martial arts teacher Ip Man never said that he had a personal passion for kung fu. Rather, his drive to attain mastery came from the desire to live up to what his belt symbolized to his teacher and society.
The findings open up the possibility of designing educational interventions that don’t rely only on the western idea of cultivating (培育) passion. That helps better unlock the potential of our students and workforce.
1. Who is more likely to succeed in a job interview according to most employers?| A．Those who have a web of relations. | B．Those who are familiar with the company. |
| C．Those who gain much family encouragement. | D．Those who have great enthusiasm for the position. |
| A．Neglecting. | B．Harvesting. | C．Exploring. | D．Defending. |
| A．To clarify the link between students’ passion and academic performance. |
| B．To encourage people to learn the cultures of different countries. |
| C．To win people from different cultural contexts more chances of admission |
| D．To show the importance of big data in culture-related studies at particular. |
| A．An American. | B．A Colombian. | C．An Australian. | D．A Canadian. |
| A．The model of motivation varies from culture to culture. |
| B．The negative effects of societal expectations on individuals. |
| C．The role of self-realization matters in a person’s success and well-being. |
| D．The typical personality types in individualist countries and collectivist ones. |
2 . To remind people of those Chinese poems and to promote cultural heritage, China Central Television (CCTV) has produced a TV show-Chinese Poetry Competition. The final of the hit show’s second season was shown on Feb7.
Wu Yishu, 16, who studies at the High School attached to Fudan University in Shanghai, came out on top. “I really admire her knowledge of poems”, said Huang Zijin, 16, a senior 2 student from Ningbo High School in Zhejiang province. “The first time I saw her wearing traditional Han clothing on TV, I was very impressed by her classical looks. She fulfills all my fantasies for classic Chinese women’s talents. What’s more, she always appears especially calm throughout the show, which is very unusual for her age. ”
“Learning poems isn’t about winning or losing. The power of poetry lies in shaping ơne’s view of life and developing one’s inner world,” said Li Bo, an expert at the Chinese Poetry Competition’s second season.
When it comes to teaching people about poetry, Li Dingguang, the show’s academic advisor, suggested that teachers should explain more about the beauty of the poetry from both the aesthetie (审美的) and emotional sides, and guide the student to lose themselves in the poems’ rhythmic and rhyming lines.
“Although the proportion (比例) of ancient Chinese poems in the textbooks of primary ant secondary schools has increased, many students still learn them for exams,” Li Dingguang told China. org. cn. “Therefore, it’s important to help students truly appreciate the artistry and fun of poetry.”
1. China Central Television (CCTV) HOSTS Chinese Poetry Competition aiming at_______.| A．enriching Chinese history and literature | B．learning poems from ancient people |
| C．giving people a chance to compete | D．spreading Chinese traditional culture |
| A．Her rich knowledge of poems | B．Her wearing traditional Han clothing |
| C．Her rich knowledge of poems and calmness | D．Her classical looks |
| A．To get good marks in examination | B．To help build up their inner world. |
| C．To win the Chinese Poetry Competition | D．To appreciate the beauty of rhythm and rhyme. |
| A．doubtful | B．supportive | C．critical | D．causal |
| A．Few Chinese learn poems just for exams. |
| B．Most Chinese learn poems just for exams. |
| C．Poems are now learned by more and more Chinese. |
| D．Not all the students are truly appreciating and learning poems. |
3 . The minutes leading up to a vacation are often an exciting time. As people check their homes and pack the last items into their suitcases, they often dream about the fun times that lie ahead. In Russia, however, there is one final step that people take to ensure a good trip. Before they walk out the door, Russians take a brief pause and silently sit on their suitcases for a few moments.
“Sidet’na chemodanakh” or “sitting on suitcases” is an ancient custom that will be a familiar ritual to anyone who grew up in Russia, or any migrant family that obeyed motherland customs. This unusual ritual started hundreds of years ago. In the years before Christianity, Russians believed that good and evil spirits lived inside their homes. They thought that the key to living a good life was to keep these spirits happy at all costs. If a person rushed out of his or her home before a trip, there was a good chance they would forget something. When that person returned a few minutes later to get it, they would disturb the evil spirits in the home. In response, the spirits might follow them out the door and accompany them on their trip. Since the spirits were offended by the person, they would bring them bad luck and possibly cause them harm.
Although many years have passed since suitcase sitting began, the practice continues to this day. As the Soviet Empire grew during the Cold War, suitcase sitting even spread throughout Eastern Europe. Although it is rooted in superstition (迷信), suitcase sitting is actually quite practical. It can prevent people from forgetting passports, plane tickets, or other items that are needed during trip. In addition, it also provides a brief moment of relaxation that can help get a journey started on the right foot. Besides that, if someone has packed too many clothes, suitcase sitting can help get it zipped up.
1. What is this passage mainly about?| A．A spirit that might annoy anyone living in Russia. |
| B．A popular vacation spot in ancient Russia. |
| C．An old tradition that is based on scientific research. |
| D．A habit meant to bring good luck to travelers. |
| A．Right | B．Justice | C．Tradition | D．Characteristic |
| A．To test the strength of their suitcases. |
| B．To keep spirits from following them. |
| C．To invite good spirits to come on vacation. |
| D．To ask spirits to protect their homes. |
| A．It spread superstition across the world. |
| B．It is practiced outside of Russia as well. |
| C．It started in Russia many years ago. |
| D．It is not based on Christian ideas. |
| A．It’s an old practice that should be forgotten. |
| B．It is necessary for travelers’ right foot. |
| C．It makes people stressed out before a trip. |
| D．It has benefits that everyone can experience |
Grandparents’ Day is a warm holiday that allows children and adults an opportunity to show their appreciation for their Grandparents. Grandparents’ Day and the weeks just before it are the time when children all over the country start thinking about what to get their Grandmothers and Grandfathers as presents for Grandparents’ Day. Of course, giving presents is just one way of celebrating Grandparents’ Day, but how to give gifts requires planning.
Choosing presents for Grandparents’ Day can be a very difficult task. Because Grandparents’ Day and holidays of its kind are meant to honor some of the most important people in our lives, the task of choosing presents that will be appropriate can be challenging. You don’t know what they like and what can show how much you love and care for them. Especially for those children who do not have much money, finding the suitable Grandparents’ Day present at the right price is a very difficult task.
One solution to the difficulty is not to buy anything at all. Rather than buying a material item that is almost sure to be short of expressing the depth and sincerity (诚心诚意) of your feelings for your Grandmother or Grandfather, consider another kind of choice entirely. One way that you can show a Grandparent that you really care is to make them something. A handmade card or flower or a written poem can go a long way towards expressing your love on Grandparents’ Day. Of course, there are also a lot more other ways to celebrate Grandparents’ Day than by just giving presents to your parents.
1. What does Grandparents’ Day mean to people? (No more than 10 words)2. What is challenging when you choose presents? (No more than 10 words)
3. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “appropriate”? (one word)
4. What gifts can best show your love to your grandparents? (No more than 10 words)
5. What gift would you prepare for Grandparents’ Day? And Why? (No more than 25 words)
5 . Archaeologists(考古学家), studying Stonehenge and its surrounding area say they’ve dug up the relies of an untouched, ancient campsite that dates back to 6,000 years-a find that could rewrite British prehistory.
“This is the most important discovery at Stonehenge in over 60 years,” Professor Tim Darvill, a Bournemouth University archaeologist and a Stonehenge expert who did not take part in the new discovery, told the Telegraph. And as he told The Huffington Post in an email, the discovery changes earlier theories that Stonehenge was built in a landscape that was not heavily used before about 3000 B. C.
The discovery was made during a dig at Blick Mead, a site about 15 miles from Stonehenge. Researchers found charcoal(木炭) dating back to 4,000 B. C. and evidence of possible buildings, according to a statement released by the university. They also dug up burnt stone and tools, as well as the remains of animals-ancient cattle that served as food for ancient hunter-gatherers.
The researchers plan further analysis on the artificial objects but say they’re worried the tunnel construction(隧道建设) could damage the site and get in the way of their work.
“Blick Mead could explain what archaeologists have been searching for centuries-an answer to the story of Stonehenge’s past,” David Jacques, the University of Buckingham archaeologist who discovered the campsite, told The Guardian. “But our only chance to find out about the earliest part of Britain’s history could be ruined if the tunnel goes ahead.”
Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument made up of a ring of standing stones, lies eight miles north of Salisbury, England in Wiltshire. It has been listed as a World Heritage Site since 1986.
1. The main purpose of the passage is________| A．to introduce a recent discovery of ancient relics |
| B．to call on people to protect the ancient relics |
| C．to warn the researchers not to do further analysis |
| D．to attract more tourists to visit Stonehenge |
| A．the researchers express their concern that the relics might be ruined |
| B．the ancient campsite has been destroyed by the construction workers |
| C．archaeologists are repairing artificial objects founded in the relic site |
| D．the tunnel construction rewrites the earliest part of Britain’s history |
| A．Travel. | B．Business | C．Lifestyle | D．Culture |
| A．Stonehenge Is In Danger of Being Destroyed Because Of the Find. |
| B．New Stonehenge Discovery Described As Most Important In 60 years. |
| C．A New Tunnel Is Being Constructed Under Stonehenge. |
| D．Stonehenge Has Been Listed as a World Heritage Site Since 1986. |
6 . Do you love music? If you are a music lover, there are some music festivals for you to learn about.
Strawberry Music Festival
Held at the most beautiful fairgrounds (露天广场) in California, Strawberry Music Festival takes over the Nevada County Fairgrounds every Memorial Day (美国阵亡将士纪念日) for four days of family run. This park, which is set in the Sierra Nevada foothills (山麓小丘), offers the perfect environment for camping and performances by some of the top artists. The festival also offers children’s programmes, workshops and activities for all ages.
Tree Town Music Festival
You don’t have to be in the Southwest or in Texas to enjoy yourself in the country lifestyle. Country living can be found all over the United States. Tree Town Music Festival in Forest City, Iowa, is a great example of country fun in the Midwest. Tree Town Music Festival features camping and live music from some of the biggest names in modern countries.
Tampa Bay Indian Music & Dance Festival
This festival shows respect for the traditions of India and its people. Food, music and performances are top attractions and display the Indian tradition proudly. Yoga fans can catch a relaxing practice. This experience of Indian culture is fun for all ages.
SXSW Music Festival
The SXSW Music Festival is a world-wide music event taking place every March in Austin, Texas. Each year the SXSW Music Festival hosts a wonderful mix of artists performing in clubs, parks, hotels and more in Austin, Texas.
1. How long doss the Strawberry Music Festival last?| A．For a week | B．For four days. |
| C．For a few hours. | D．For the whole month of March. |
| A．Visit art workshops with you kids. | B．Taste many kinds of delicious food. |
| C．Take part in interesting yoga classes. | D．Have fun experiencing great country life. |
| A．It shows Indian culture. | B．Its theme is about yoga. |
| C．It is suitable for children. | D．It is held at the fairground. |
| A．SXSW Music Festival. | B．Tree Town Music Festival. |
| C．Strawberry Music Festival. | D．Tampa Bay Indian Music & Dance Festival. |
①Strawberry Music Festival
②Tree Town Music Festival
③Tampa Bay Indian Music & Dance Festival
④SXSW Music Festival
| A．②③ | B．①④ | C．①② | D．③④ |
7 . Live music fans all over the world are constantly on the lookout for live musical events and concerts. There are indeed a great number of festivals that take place all over the globe to cater to this great demand for music and entertainment. Among these events one of the more popular festivals is the UK Cardiff Big Weekend, which is famous for its featured talent that includes famous musical bands and artists and much revelry that has made a popular audience draw.
The event has taken place every year since 1995 and it is organized around by Cardiff Council. It is known as the country’s largest free music event, thus attracting hundreds of thousands of music lovers and enthusiasts. The celebrations go on for three days featuring different styles of live entertainment. What is more, the occasion also features a number of lively outdoor events that are celebrated around Cardiff’s Civic Centre. The participants can also look forward to the fireworks display every night that takes place during the closing of the performances.
It features not just budding talent, but also established artists as well as those who have made a name for themselves on the international entertainment scene. Generally, on Friday nights, the concert features Welsh Bands. For those who take part in the event, they can look forward not just to good music but also a fun-filled fairground atmosphere with all the attractions of a fair. Thus it is a popular spot for not just the young but also those who are young at heart looking to have a great time and hear a wide range of musical styles.
Festival participants can make use of the different hotel packages on offer from various UK hotels. Hotel chains such as Millennium & Copthorne Hotels UK have a number of attractive offers such as rooms with breakfast, long-stay packages and advance booking packages. Even if you are a last-minute planner, there are great deals not to be missed.
1. The underlined part “cater to” in the first paragraph can best replaced by “________”.| A．avoid | B．create | C．reduce | D．satisfy |
| A．It lasts two days. | B．It is free of charge. |
| C．It is held every two years. | D．It has a history of 30 years. |
| A．meet some well-known artists | B．watch Welsh bands perform on Sunday |
| C．visit a local fair near Cardiff’s Civic Centre | D．watch fireworks when performances begin |
| A．what we shouldn’t miss during the festival |
| B．what we should keep in mind when making plans |
| C．there are a lot of cheap hotels in the United Kingdom |
| D．good deals on hotels are available during the festival |
| A．A news story. | B．A research paper. | C．A music magazine. | D．A history book. |
8 . Africa is a large and varied continent containing some of the oldest civilizations on earth. It is home to a wide diversity of religions and cultures, and this colorful diversity is reflected in its diverse and colorful weddings traditions.
An African wedding is, more than anything, the bringing together of two people as a single family, or the combining of two families or even the mixture of two tribes into one family unit. The concept of family is one of the unifying ideas of the African continent. There are more than 1,000 cultural units in Africa and each culture, each tribe has its own wedding and marriage traditions, many of which can trace their origins back hundreds or even thousands of years. There are also many different religions represented in Africa. Many northern Africans, especially, have been influenced by Muslim traditions, while further south there are more Christian, Hindu, and even Jewish traditions with more ancient traditions.
In many places in Africa young girls are trained to be good wives from an early age. They may even learn secret codes and secret languages that allow them to talk with other married women without their husbands understanding what is being said.
Depending on which part of Africa you are in, wedding ceremonies can be extremely elaborate, some lasting many days. Often huge ceremonies are held during which many couples are united at the same time.
In Sudan and in other areas along the Nile a man must pay his wife’s family in sheep or cattle for the loss of their daughter’s labor in support of the family. A wife may cost a man as many as 30 to 40 head of cattle. In Somalia a man is allowed to have as many as four wives if he can support them all, and it is not uncommon for a girl to be engaged before she is even born.
Bright festive colors, song, dance, and music are vital elements of many African wedding ceremonies. Common to all wedding ceremonies is the concept of changing between childhood and adulthood. In many African cultures children are encouraged to marry as young as 13 to 15 years of age, as soon as they have reached physical adulthood.
1. When two young get married in Africa it means ________.| A．they will explore a wide diversity of religions |
| B．they will live together for the rest of their life |
| C．they will contribute to the union of African tribes |
| D．they will have a chance to enjoy their romance |
| A．All the tribes in Africa have the same belief. |
| B．Africa witnesses varieties of marriage traditions. |
| C．Most of Africans are believers in Islam. |
| D．People in South Africa are all Christians. |
| A．to have a good communication with their husbands |
| B．to give their children a good education in the future |
| C．to gain the ability to talk with other married women |
| D．to master the skills about having communication |
| A．Similar. | B．Familiar. | C．Difficult. | D．Different. |
| A．wedding ceremonies are full of happiness |
| B．there are more men than women in Somalia |
| C．the cattle are well worth a lot of money |
| D．Africans prefer dancing to anything else |
9 . When I lived in Spain, some Spanish friends of mine decided to visit England by car. Before they left, they asked me for advice about how to find accommodation. I suggested that they should stay at “bed and breakfast” houses, because this kind of accommodation gives a foreign visitor a good chance to speak English with the family. My friends listened to my advice, but they came back with some funny stories.
“We didn’t stay at “bed and breakfast” houses,” they said, “because we found that most families were away on holiday.”
I thought this was strange. Finally I understood what had happened. My friends spoke little English, and they thought “VACANCIES” meant “holidays”, because the Spanish word for “holidays” is “vacaciones”. So they did not go to house where the sign outside said “VACANCIES “, which in English means there are free rooms. Then my friends went to house where the sign said “NO VACANCIES”, because they thought this meant the people who owned the house were not away on holiday. But they found that these houses were all full. As a result, they stayed at hotels!
We laughed about this and about mistakes my friends made in reading other signs. In Spanish, the word “DIVERSION” means fun. In English, it means that workmen are repairing the road, and that you must take a different road. When my friends saw the word “DIVERSION” on a road sign, they thought they were going to have fun. Instead, the road ended in a large hole.
English people have problems too when they learn foreign languages. Once in Paris, when someone offered me some more coffee, I said “Thank you” in French. I meant that I would like some more. However, to my surprise, the coffee pot was taken away! Later I found out that “Thank you” in French means “No, thank you.”
1. The writer’s friends in Spain wanted to get advice about ________.| A．the chance of learning English | B．the way of going to England |
| C．the traffic rules in England | D．finding places to stay in England |
| A．it would be convenient for them to have dinner |
| B．it would be much cheaper than staying in hotels |
| C．they would be able to practise their English |
| D．there would be no problem about finding accommodation there |
| A．they misunderstood the signs outside the door |
| B．there were no such “bed and breakfast” houses in England |
| C．they found there were no free rooms there |
| D．people there were away on holiday |
| A．fall into a hole |
| B．have to take a different road |
| C．find that the road is blocked by crowds of people |
| D．have a lot of fun and enjoy yourself |
| A．he doesn’t want any more coffee |
| B．he wants to show his appreciation |
| C．he just wants to express his politeness |
| D．he wants to have some more coffee |
10 . National Bird Day
National Bird Day is a holiday which has been celebrated on January 5th. The purpose of this holiday is to bring attention to the situation of our friends — birds. This holiday is also a good day to appreciate the beauty and the diversity of these creatures.
However, National Bird Day shouldn't be confused with Bird Day — one of the oldest bird holidays. Bird Day is a holiday that is celebrated annually in the United States on May 4th since the late 19th century.
History
National Bird Day is a holiday which has been celebrated for over a decade now. Bird Day, on the other hand, goes back a lot further. According to the Library of Congress, Bird Day was established by Charles Almanzo Babcock in 1894.
Facts About Birds
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, there are almost 10,000 different species of birds. But almost 900 of them are on the verge of extinction(濒临灭绝).
Customs, Traditions, and Celebrations
National Bird Day can be celebrated in many different ways. Participants can watch birds, and they can take part in one of the activities for the protection of birds. In schools across the US, children often are given the task of researching into birds on this day or drawing a nice picture of birds for the classroom.
1. What can we learn about National Bird Day?| A．It is celebrated all over the world. |
| B．It was set up earlier than Bird Day. |
| C．It has a history of more than 100 years. |
| D．It is celebrated earlier than Bird Day every year. |
| A．0.8%. | B．0.9%. | C．8%. | D．9%. |
| A．Buy some birds. | B．Feed some birds. |
| C．Study some birds. | D．Set some birds free. |
