1 . As a child, I was proud of my southern origin. My own voice reflected my family’s past and present-part northern Mississippi, part Tennessee, all southern. There was no sound I loved more than my grandmother’s accent: thick, sweet, warm.
While growing up, I began to realize outside of our region, southerners were often dismissed as uncultured and ignorant. I was ready to leave behind my tiny town in West Tennessee, starting a new life and jumping at big chances in some far-off cities. In that embarrassing space between “teen” and “adult”, my accent was a symbol of everything I thought I hated about my life in the rural South. I feared it would disqualify me from being a noted magazine writer. I would have to talk less “country”. So I killed a piece of myself. I’m ashamed of it, but I’m more ashamed that I tried to kill that part of someone else-change Emily’s accent.
I met Emily in college. She was determined to work for the student newspaper, which was where I spent most of my waking hours, and we became friends. She, unlike me, accepted her roots. Early in our friendship, her mother asked where I was from, assuming it was somewhere up north. Then I felt my efforts paid off and even wanted to ignore the mistake.
Emily is two years younger and she cared about my opinion. I advised her to be more like me and hide her signature Manchester accent. I stressed that throughout our college years, often by making fun of her vowel (元音) sounds. I told myself I was helping her achieve her dream of working as a reporter. Now, I see that it was actually about justifying my hiding part of myself.
Grandma Carolyn used to tell me, “Girl, don’t forget where you come from.” Now I truly understand that. Many things have faded from memory, but this sticks in my mind with uncomfortable clarity. Now that I am grown and have left the South, it’s important to me.
1. What made the author want to leave her hometown?A.Appeal of convenience in cities. |
B.Her dream of becoming a writer. |
C.Outside prejudice against southerners. |
D.Her desire for the northern accent. |
A.Upset. | B.Pleased. | C.Ashamed. | D.Surprised. |
A.To prove herself right. | B.To help Emily be a reporter. |
C.To make herself influential. | D.To protect Emily’s self-dignity. |
A.Stay true to your roots. | B.Never do things by halves. |
C.Hold on to your dreams. | D.Never judge a person by his accent. |
3 . During my second year at the city college,I was told that the education department was offering a "free"course, called Thinking Chess, for three credits. I
Maurice Ashley was kind and smart, a former graduate returning to teach, and this
Ten years after my chess class with Ashley, I'm still putting to use what he
A.put forward | B.jumped at | C.tried out | D.turned down |
A.waste | B.earn | C.save | D.pay |
A.excited | B.worried | C.moved | D.tired |
A.title | B.competitor | C.textbook | D.instructor |
A.urged | B.demanded | C.held | D.meant |
A.fastest | B.easiest | C.best | D.rarest |
A.interview | B.meet | C.challenge | D.beat |
A.chance | B.qualification | C.honor | D.job |
A.real | B.perfect | C.clear | D.possible |
A.attend | B.pass | C.skip | D.observe |
A.add | B.expose | C.apply | D.compare |
A.eventually | B.naturally | C.directly | D.normally |
A.game | B.presentation | C.course | D.experiment |
A.criterion | B.classroom | C.department | D.situation |
A.taught | B.wrote | C.questioned | D.promised |
A.fact | B.step | C.manner | D.skill |
A.grades | B.decisions | C.impressions | D.comments |
A.analyze | B.describe | C.rebuild | D.control |
A.announce | B.signal | C.block | D.evaluate |
A.role | B.desire | C.concern | D.behavior |
4 . Everyone knows what makes a good story. Our hero starts their journey as a flawed being. In scene after scene, they face challenges that push them down new paths. By the end of the talc, they overcome setbacks and become a better person in the process.
We love these plots in the novels we read but the principles of a good story offer much more than entertainment. Recent research shows that the narratives we tell ourselves about our lives can powerfully help us recover from stress. People who generate tales of struggling and turning over a new leaf from their own lives appear to have much better mental health. Professor Dan McAdams put forward this idea and discovered that whether someone can describe having had some control over events in their past is an important predictor of mental health. Another key theme involved is finding some kind of positive meaning after stressful events.
McAdams invited 14 and 15-year-olds to join in an experiment to write about their experiences of failure and success. Half of them were then given extra instructions to describe the ways they had made their success a reality and how the failure had changed them for the better. Eight weeks later, members of this group reported greater persistence and better grades in their schoolwork.
Exciting as these results are, some experts sound a few notes of caution. They worry that, hearing about the power of self-narratives, many people may feel they have to find a positive turning point in life. If they can’t, they could end up feeling guilty about having somehow “failed”.
Clearly, self-narratives aren’t the panacea. Nevertheless, if you hope for self-improvement, you can use the findings to good effect. By recognizing ourselves as the hero at the center of our own struggles, we can all become the author of our own destiny and change ourselves for the better.
1. What does the research focus on?A.The causes of stress. |
B.The principles of narrative. |
C.The connection between struggle and well-being. |
D.The link between mental health and self-narratives. |
A.To give proof. | B.To make predictions. |
C.To draw a conclusion. | D.To make comparisons. |
A.Attempt to get rid of worries. | B.Means of recognizing yourself. |
C.Solution to adolescent problems. | D.Guarantee to become better people. |
A.Embrace Life Struggles | B.Be Your Own Hero |
C.Ways to Make a Good Story | D.The Power of Self-improvement |
There are several reasons why school uniforms are good idea. First of all, uniforms help the school look smart. The students feel that they belong to a particular group. When every pupil in the school wears the uniform, nobody
But can uniforms help improve school standards? The answer
School uniforms are
6 . Before there was the written word, there was the language of dance. Dance expresses love and hate, joy and sorrow, life and death, and everything else in between.
“I adore dancing,” says Lester Bridges, the owner of a dance studio in Iowa. “I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life.” Bridges runs dance classes for all ages. “Teaching dance is wonderful.
So, do we dance in order to make ourselves feel better, calmer, healthier? Andrea Hillier says, “Dance, like the pattern of a beating heart, is life. Even after all these years, I want to get better and better.
A.So why do we dance? |
B.Dance in the U.S. is everywhere. |
C.If you like dancing outdoors, come to America. |
D.My older students say it makes them feel young. |
E.I keep practicing even when I’m extremely tired. |
F.Dancing seems to change their feeling completely. |
G.They stayed up all night long singing and dancing. |
7 . Today's world is not an easy adjustment for young adults. Key skill set for success is persistence (毅力), a characteristic that researchers say is heavily influenced by fathers. Researchers from Brigham Young University discovered that fathers are in a unique position to help their adolescent children learn persistence.
BYU professors Laura Padilla-Walker and Randal Day arrived at these findings after following 325 American families over several years. And over time,the persistence gained through fathers led to higher achievement in school.
"There are relatively few studies that stress the unique role of fathers,"Padilla-Walker said. "This research also helps to prove that characteristics such as persistence-which can be taught-are key to a child's life success.”
Researchers determined that dads need to practice an "authoritative" parenting style. Authoritative parenting is not authoritarian:rigid,demanding or controlling. Rather,an authoritative parenting style includes some of the following characteristics:children feel warmth and love from their father;responsibility and the reasons behind rules are stressed children are given an appropriate level of autonomy(自主权).
In the study,about 52 percent of the dads exhibited above-average levels of authoritative parenting. A key finding is that over time,children raised by an authoritative father were significantly more likely to develop persistence,which leads to better outcomes in school.
This particular study examined 11 to 14-year-olds living in two-parent homes. Yet the researchers suggest that single parents still may play a role in teaching the benefits of persistence,which is an avenue of future research.
1. What is special about the BYU professors' study?A.It centered on fathers' role in parenting. |
B.It was based on a number of large families. |
C.It analyzed different kinds of parenting styles. |
D.It aimed to improve kids' achievement in school. |
A.Ignore their demands. | B.Make decisions for them. |
C.Control their behaviors. | D.Explain the rules to them. |
A.Single parents. |
B.Children aged from 11 to 14. |
C.Authoritarian fathers. |
D.Mothers in two-parent homes. |
A.Three Characteristics of Authoritative Fathers. |
B.Key Skills for Young Adults to Succeed in Future. |
C.Children Tend to Learn Determination from Father. |
D.Family Relationship Influences School Performance. |
8 . Discovering Your True Self Is Vital to Happiness!
Have you found focusing on yourself is at the bottom of the to-do list, because you feel everyone else in your life comes first?
This isn’t just about identifying your favorite outfit, haircut or flavor of ice cream.
There are many tools to help you develop a deeper sense of yourself, including journaling and other forms of creative expression. You can use a guided journal to explore your thoughts and feelings or just free write whatever comes to mind. It’s up to you what you want to do.
An often overlooked yet very important factor in self-discovery is having healthy boundaries in your personal life.
A.It’s one thing to know your personality type. |
B.It’s a great way to show that you care about others. |
C.Taking time for ourselves has been looked down upon. |
D.Another way is to observe your behavior in different situations. |
E.It allows you to focus on the needs of yourself without ignoring others. |
F.But try not to get caught up in the criticism or judgment of your writing. |
G.It’s about understanding your inner world and how you fit into the outer world. |
9 . Physicist and Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman developed a clever learning method known as the Feynman Technique. It involves explaining what you're learning to others. By teaching what you’ve learned from memory, you engage in active recall.
To begin, choose a concept or topic you wish to fully understand.
While teaching you may discover gaps in your understanding.
Now that you fully grasp the concept, test your understanding by trying to teach it to another person. This will help you identify any remaining areas of uncertainty you need to revisit.
The Feynman Technique is a great way for kids and grown-ups to learn.
A.It is mentally demanding. |
B.This helps the information stick in your mind better. |
C.Teach it to a five-year-old, who would give you direct feedback. |
D.Your curiosity about it will determine the pace of your learning. |
E.Once you have chosen a topic, you can teach it to someone else. |
F.Active engagement plays a key role in promoting deeper learning. |
G.When this happens, refer back to the original material for the missing pieces. |
10 . Summer is coming. Are you looking for a part-time job? Here are some possible options.
Lifeguard
Are you a strong swimmer and a good communicator? Would you like a challenge? We are looking for lifeguards for our busy summer season. No experience is necessary as you will get two weeks of training before you start the job. As well as being physically fit, you need to be available for work Mon-Fri, 7- 11 a.m.
Store assistant
We are looking for store assistants for our busy gift store. Applicants need to be reliable, friendly, and enjoy speaking to customers. A second language is preferred as many of our customers are tourists from other countries. The positions are part-time and you need to work from Thursday to Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Fashion designer
Are you interested in the latest styles? Are you creative and good at art? If so, Dresswise is looking for a young person to create new looks for our teen department. This is a great opportunity to gain experience in the clothing industry. You will need to work four days a week and we’ll pay you for each design we use. We’ll also give you samples of your designs to wear.
Game tester
Are you into technology and creative? Would you like to play and test educational games and get paid for it? This is an exciting part-time job for somebody who loves playing games. We offer flexible hours. If this is for you, write a description of your favorite game and why you like it in no more than 150 words.
If you are interested in any of the above jobs, please contact us at studentunrion @campus.com.
1. What is a shared requirement for lifeguard and store assistant?A.Communicative ability. | B.A second language. |
C.Professional experience. | D.A strong body. |
A.Lifeguard. | B.Store assistant. |
C.Fashion designer. | D.Game tester. |
A.Samples of the latest styles. |
B.Payment for each of your designs. |
C.Experience in the fashion industry. |
D.Chances to design clothes for adults. |