1 . All of us have taken an instant dislike to someone, and then felt guilty about being too judgmental. But now it seems we should place more trust in our first impressions. Most people can correctly judge a total stranger following a short meeting, according to scientists.
And in general, the more confident the people are, the more likely they are to be correct in their assumptions. Jeremy Biesanz, who led a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia, said: “Many important decisions are made after very brief encounters — which employee to hire, which person to date, which student to accept”. Although our first impressions are generally accurate, it is necessary for us to recognize where they may be not good enough.
The researchers arranged for two groups of more than 100 people to meet in a meeting. Much like speed-dating, the volunteers spoke to everyone in their group for three minutes each. At the end of each three-minute chat, they were asked to rate each other’s personalities, and how well they thought their impressions “would coincide with someone who knows this person very well”.
To find out what the person was “really” like, the scientists had his friends and family fill out his personality reports. Generally speaking, the more confident the volunteers felt in accurately rating another’s personality, the closer their ratings were to those of the other person’s friends and family, the researchers said.
However, the participants with the highest accuracy were those who rated themselves moderately(适度)accurate — those highly confident of their judgment were less successful. The scientists concluded that, although we know people are different from each other, a good judge of character knows that in many ways people are mostly alike. For example, almost everyone would prefer being kind to being unfriendly.
Therefore, while first impressions can be generally accurate, they are not conclusive in working out whether somebody really is “better” than someone else.
1. The volunteers joined a meeting which was ______.| A．interesting | B．complex | C．serious | D．brief |
| A．agree with | B．appeal to | C．get along with | D．set an example to |
①Being talkative ②Good social relationships
③A proper degree of confidence ④Knowing that people are mostly alike
| A．①② | B．②③ | C．③④ | D．④① |
| A．many important decisions are made with the help of strangers |
| B．people tend to have better impressions on friends than on strangers |
| C．we shouldn’t depend on first impressions completely to judge others |
| D．accurate judgments on others can help us make as many friends as possible |
| A．We should not doubt our ability to judge others. |
| B．Our first impressions on a stranger are usually accurate. |
| C．Confidence determines whether people can succeed or not. |
| D．It’s an important task to make a good judgment about strangers. |
2 . Sitting back in my seat, I can’t quite believe that I’m about to travel along the railway that many foreign experts thought was “impossible”. All this time, the song “Sky Railway” has been
I was one of the people who came from all parts of China to work on this railway.
The first landmark to catch my eye is the splendid Qingshuihe Bridge, the world’s longest bridge built over permafrost. Look! A group of Tibetan antelopes is moving
To prevent
The journey has been flying by, and before I know it, we have reached Tanggula Station.
As we pass Cuona Lake, I feel a sense of pride and achievement. It is so close to the railway that I want to
| A．playing | B．expressing | C．viewing | D．reading |
| A．legal | B．cute | C．vivid | D．formal |
| A．Spending | B．Taking | C．Investing | D．Wasting |
| A．create | B．determine | C．suffer | D．overcome |
| A．protect | B．destroy | C．ignore | D．mix |
| A．on | B．under | C．above | D．in |
| A．leisure | B．request | C．risk | D．expense |
| A．condition | B．habitat | C．state | D．common |
| A．bridges | B．railways | C．mountains | D．passages |
| A．grateful | B．guilty | C．unaware | D．happy |
| A．spread | B．infection | C．damage | D．panic |
| A．a long history of | B．a large area of | C．a high cost of | D．a total length of |
| A．Located | B．Started | C．Ended | D．Instructed |
| A．strongest | B．fastest | C．newest | D．highest |
| A．mild | B．warm | C．changeable | D．stable |
| A．challenge | B．talent | C．limit | D．opportunity |
| A．quiet | B．healthy | C．calm | D．open |
| A．commercial | B．regular | C．formal | D．casual |
| A．blow away | B．pay off | C．reach out | D．give in |
| A．plot | B．wonderland | C．device | D．care |
3 . Pooja Rai was a young architecture student in 2014 when she went with a friend to give food to a local orphanage. She was surprised at what she saw.
Kids were playing with anything they could get their hands on. One group was rolling around a broken metal pipe. Two boys were trying to play badminton, using old shoes as rackets. “Play shouldn’t just be part of a rich kid’s lifestyle. All kids have a right to enjoy their childhoods.” Rai says.
Over the next few weeks, she talked with friends about collecting money for a playground. And that’s when she thought of old tires. Around 100 million tires are thrown away in India every year. Could they reuse them as playground materials and help the environment, too?
That idea became a reality in 2015, using old tires—all cleaned, carefully looked over to make sure they are safe to use, and painted in bright colors. The following year, she created Anthill Creations, which has built 275 playgrounds across India—celebrating the power of play in public spaces orphanages, and schools.
“Our work always begins with talks with kids about what they want from this space.” says Rai. Sometimes it can take a few hours, or a few visits, until children are ready to open up. She also draws on her experience as an architect. “I found that spaces are powerful in shaping people’s behavior.” she says.
Most of the play spaces Rai designs feature large tire sculptures of cars, buildings, or animals, paired with more classic elements of swings and jungle gyms.
In one girl’s school in Bengaluru, the children wanted their play space to be shaped into a boxing ring, with tires doubling up as punching bags. “Their teacher was unsure about it.” Rai remembers. “But the girls said they didn’t want people to see them as weak. They wanted to practice self-defense and grow stronger.” In December 2019, this playground became a reality.
1. What did Rai find out about the kids in a local orphanage?| A．They behaved badly. | B．They were badly treated. |
| C．They had nothing to do but play. | D．They were short of play equipment. |
| A．She renewed them in a tire shop. |
| B．She turned them into artistic works. |
| C．She used them to design play spaces. |
| D．She sold them to raise money for hungry kids. |
| A．Children’s needs. | B．Children’s experiences. |
| C．Her favourite childhood games. | D．An architect friend’s suggestions. |
| A．They needed to build their confidence. |
| B．They wanted to win their teachers’ trust. |
| C．They finally had their dream playground. |
| D．They often helped with collecting old tires. |
| A．Talented and hard-working. | B．Creative and kind-hearted. |
| C．Realistic and lonely. | D．Poor but caring. |
4 . I was 17 years old. Along with a dozen other boys I had made a long trip to Iowa in order to see a college that I was thinking of
Here in Iowa everything was
Over the years to come I
| A．skipping | B．recommending | C．attending | D．enjoying |
| A．calm | B．lonely | C．awake | D．hungry |
| A．performing | B．jumping | C．walking | D．shooting |
| A．leaves | B．insects | C．seeds | D．water |
| A．blue | B．black | C．white | D．gold |
| A．sound | B．smell | C．strength | D．spirit |
| A．role | B．time | C．part | D．path |
| A．exciting | B．silent | C．full | D．flat |
| A．mixture | B．memory | C．nutrition | D．distinction |
| A．sofa | B．pool | C．bench | D．soil |
| A．believed in | B．cared about | C．looked for | D．dreamed of |
| A．touched | B．occupied | C．passed | D．missed |
| A．happened | B．exploded | C．flowed | D．increased |
| A．rich | B．tiny | C．popular | D．perfect |
| A．remembered | B．replied | C．realized | D．refused |
| A．creation | B．shadow | C．regulation | D．terminal |
| A．watched | B．confirmed | C．decided | D．learned |
| A．as well | B．as usual | C．as a result | D．as a whole |
| A．responsibilities | B．honors | C．talents | D．desires |
| A．clearly | B．brightly | C．blankly | D．suddenly |
My elder brother Steve, in the absence of my father who died when I was six, gave me important lessons in values that helped me grow into an adult.
For instance, Steve taught me to face the results of my behavior. Once when I returned in tears from a Saturday baseball game, it was Steve who took the time to ask me what happened. When I explained that my baseball had scared through Mrs. Holt’s basement window, breaking the glass with a crash, Steve encouraged me to confess (认罪) to her. After all, I should have been playing in the park down Fifth Street and not in the path between buildings. Although my knees knocked as I explained to Mrs. Holt, I offered to pay for the window from my pocket money if she would return my ball.
I also learned from Steve that personal property is a sacred (神圣的) thing. After I found a shiny silver pen in my fifth-grade classroom, I wanted to keep it, but Steve explained that it might be important to someone else in spite of the fact that it had little value. He reminded me of how much I’d hate to lose to someone else the small dog my father carved from a piece of cheap wood. I returned the pen to my teacher, Mrs. Davids, and still remembered the smell of her perfume as she patted me on my shoulder.
Yet of all the instructions Steve gave me, his respect for life is the most vivid in my mind. When I was twelve I killed an old brown sparrow in the yard with a BB gun. Excited with my accuracy. I screamed to Steve to come from the house to take a look. I shall never forget the way he stood for a long moment and stared at the bird on the ground. Then in a dead, quiet voice, he asked, “Did it hurt you first, Mark?” I didn’t know what to answer. He continued with his eyes firm,” The only time you should even think of hurting a living thing is when it hurts you first. And then you think a long. long time.” I really felt terrible then, but that moment stands out as the most important lesson my brother taught me.
1. Why did the author weep when returning from a baseball game? (no more than 12 words)2. The underlined part can be replaced by
3. How did the author kill the old brown sparrow? (no more than 5 words)
4. What important lessons did the author learn from Steve? (no more than 20 words)
5. How are you inspired by the lesson? Explain in your own words. (no more than 20 words)
6 . Online classes began to be popularized just a few decades ago. They are advertised as a way for adults to finish their education and students to learn the material at their own pace—it is far more suitable for people with busy schedules.
But after being enrolled in an online course last fall semester, I came to realize online classes were merely a means to fulfil course requirements.
First of all, students lack the desire to learn, and they simply complete their assignments to receive credit for a passing grade rather than genuinely engage with the course material.
As online courses tend to have more than 100 students, most of the assignments are short and simple. They are not designed for students to interact with the material in depth but designed to be graded casily to accommodate such a large number of students.
Perhaps the biggest disadvantage of taking an online class is the absence of face-to-face interaction between the teacher and their students. Live sessions are infrequent and are often scheduled during the middle of the day when students have to attend other classes or work. The office hours of the professor may also be during inconvenient times for many students as well. Most interaction with the professor has to be through email which is often impersonal. It is nearly impossible for students to build a relationship with their professor.
There is also little interaction amongst students. It can be harder for students to create study groups and form relationships with their peers.
Online classes also require either a computer or laptop and a reliable internet connection. Not all students have access to these types of resources, whether it is for financial or other reasons, and some students can be put at a disadvantage.
Offering online classes certainly helps students who would otherwise not be able to attend classroom sessions. However, they fail to provide a genuine education with an emphasis on convenience rather than critical thinking. We need restructured online classes in which students can have a learning experience that will actually provide quality education.
1. What does the author say about students enrolled in online classes?| A．They can access course materials easily. | B．They are unmotivated to learn. |
| C．They can learn at their own pace. | D．They rarely fulfil the course requirements. |
| A．They are made convenient to mark. |
| B．They are meant to facilitate interaction. |
| C．They are based on easily accessible material. |
| D．They are given to accommodate students’ needs. |
| A．They are frequently scheduled at irregular times. |
| B．They make professors’ offices much less accessible. |
| C．They tend to increase professors’ burden of responding to students’ emails. |
| D．They provide little chance for students to build relationships with each other. |
| A．More students may find it easy to be absent from them. |
| B．Teachers will worry about poor internet connections. |
| C．Some students may have difficulty attending them. |
| D．Schools with limited resources will be at a disadvantage. |
| A．Acquisition of useful knowledge. | B．Training of real-life skills on campus. |
| C．Development of students’ personalities. | D．Cultivation of analytical thinking ability. |
7 . The concept of an art museum is easy enough: that is about art. There are those rare museums focused largely or entirely on the work of just one person. Those senses can be all the richer when you know the museum is the artist’s birthplace or onetime home. Here are four examples of such museums.
Cyrus E. Dallin Art Museum611 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington
781-641-0747
The name Cyrus E. Dallin (1861-1944) might not be familiar, but several of the sculptor’s works are. His “Appeal to the Great Spirit”, an example of the many sculptures Dallin made relating to Native Americans, stands in front of the Museum of Fine Arts. Born in Utah, he lived in Arlington (Texas) for the final four decades of his life.
Norman Rockwell Museum9 Glendale Road, Stockbridge
413-298-4100, www.nrm.org
Rockwell (1894-1978) moved to Stockbridge in 1953. By then he was already America’s best-known illustrator (插图画家). The museum, founded in 1969, moved into its present, Robert A. M. Stern-designed building in 1993. Its 998 paintings and drawings are the largest single collection of Rockwell’s art.
Kids 6 and under FREE, adults $20, students with ID: $10
Edward Gorey House8 Strawberry Lane, Yarmouth Port
508-362-3909
Edward Gorey (1925-2000) was an artist, yes, but he was other things as well: author, playwright, set and costume designer. Gorey purchased this 18th-century house in 1979 and lived there the rest of his life. The house currently serves as a museum celebrating Gorey’s life and work. It’s also known as the Elephant House. That’s appropriate, in light of Gorey’s passion for animal welfare.
Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and Museum815 Gilbert Stuart Road, Saunderstown, R. I.
401-294-3001
Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) is responsible for what may well be the most familiar work of any American artist. His portrait of George Washington is the basis of the first president’s image on the dollar bill. As one of the early Republic’s most distinguished artists, Stuart painted more than a thousand portraits over the course of his career.
1. What is the feature these four museums have in common?| A．They are all very small and new. | B．They offer rare exhibits in the world. |
| C．They attract a large number of artists. | D．They all involve a single individual’s works of art. |
| A．He is a world-known sculptor. | B．Few people know his masterpiece. |
| C．He lived in Utah for his last 40 years. | D．His artworks had a lot to do with Native Americans. |
| A．20 dollars. | B．30 dollars. | C．40 dollars. | D．50 dollars. |
| A．9 Glendale Road, Stockbridge. | B．8 Strawberry Lane, Yarmouth Port. |
| C．611 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington. | D．815 Gilbert Stuart Road, Saunderstown, R. I. |
| A．401-294-3001. | B．781-641-0747. | C．413-298-4100. | D．508-362-3909. |
8 . Free online courses
Greek and Roman Mythology
Instructed by Peter Struck, an associate professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, this three-week course introduces students to mythology, specifically in reference to Greek and Roman cultures. Each week students will be required to watch video lectures, ending with a quiz reviewing that week’s lessons.
Scandinavian Film and Television
This six-week course is perfect for those wanting to get familiar with Scandinavian film and television scene throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Instructor Eva Novrup Redvall, an assistant professor of film and media studies at the University of Copenhagen, leads students through weekly modules, kicking off with the early years of Scandinavian cinematic work. Film and TV clips (片段) help bring each lesson to life, as do supplemental (补充的) readings.
A Virtual Tour of the Ancient City
This class starts off with the following question: “What has Rome ever done for us?” Professor Matthew Nicholls in the Department of Classics at the University of Reading deals with that question head-on during his five-week course, focusing on the building of the ancient city of Rome and how it laid the groundwork for the construction of cities throughout the world. In addition to online discussions, the course includes digital models that students can download and view, giving them a 3-D perspective of Rome without setting foot there.
The Bard’s Life and Work
Reading Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet or any of the other works by William Shakespeare is practically a rite of passage in high school English classes, but this four-week course explore the life of the English playwright and poet. Stephen Greenblatt, the John Cogan University Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University, leads students through different approaches to literary analysis and examines how his writing has been interpreted over the centuries.
1. How does the first course help students strengthen what they have learned?| A．By playing film clips. |
| B．By giving weekly tests. |
| C．By offering online discussions. |
| D．By providing supplemental readings. |
| A．The Bard’s Life and Work. |
| B．Greek and Roman Mythology. |
| C．Scandinavian Film and Television. |
| D．A Virtual Tour of the Ancient City. |
| A．Historical cities in England. |
| B．Greek and Roman classics. |
| C．Ancient Roman architecture. |
| D．Scandinavian traditions and customs. |
| A．Eva Novrup Redvall’s. |
| B．Stephen Greenblatt’s. |
| C．Matthew Nicholls’s. |
| D．Peter Struck’s. |
| A．Studying the life and works of Shakespeare. |
| B．Exploring the history of English literature. |
| C．Reading the passage about Shakespeare. |
| D．Analyzing different modern playwrights. |
| A．make | B．admit | C．settle | D．represent |
10 . We sometimes think that everything was much better and easier in the past. It’s one of the tricks our minds play on us, especially when we are in low spirits.
Actually, it’s unlikely that things were objectively better in the past. This form of thinking is called rosy retrospection, which is a well-studied cognitive bias. It happens because when we think about the past, we are more likely to focus on positive generalities than annoying details.
If you think back to a holiday with your family five years ago, you’re likely to recall the beautiful views rather than the uncomfortable bed. In other words, the negative details disappear from our memory over time while the positive ones remain.
Rosy retrospection can influence how we make decisions, and it’s one of the reasons why we easily return into problematic relationships. The longer it is since we experienced the negative influence of a relationship, the more likely we are to let the good memories outweigh the bad memories and to perhaps forgive unforgivable behavior. It’s always a good idea to review our nostalgic (怀旧的) feelings with a healthy degree of doubt.
But rosy retrospection does serve an important purpose. It keeps us in a positive state of mind in the present and is important to our psychological wellbeing. In fact, people who tend to remember negative experiences more than positive ones are likely to exhibit psychological disorders. Research generally suggests that our happiest days are still to come. And even if they’re not, it’s still important to believe that they are. Don’t shy away from looking upon the past with a certain degree of nostalgia. But, for the same reason, don’t use the past as an excuse to be unhappy in the present.
1. When we think about the past, we usually .| A．improve present living conditions | B．beautify past experiences |
| C．focus on mind mapping | D．play games to forget bad things |
| A．Having a preference for good memories. | B．Remembering exactly about the details. |
| C．Concentrating on impossible things. | D．Thinking objectively about the past. |
| A．Reviewing the nostalgic feelings critically. |
| B．Ignoring the nostalgic feelings absolutely. |
| C．Forgiving the unacceptable behavior generously. |
| D．Getting back to the problematic relationships bravely. |
| A．The good excuse for present unhappiness. | B．The accuracy of remembering past details. |
| C．The importance of maintaining a positive mindset. | D．The negative impact of recalling past experiences. |
| A．Negative. | B．Subjective. | C．Favorable. | D．Objective. |
