1 . When I first aspired to become a science writer, I imagined each day would be filled with inspiration and creativity. The reality, of course, is far less enjoyable than my fantasies. Researching a story, for example, often involves reading lots of dry and technical papers before I finally strike gold with the information that I seek.
Most professions, I imagine, include challenging but necessary tasks that sap enthusiasm. But a recent paper from Edward Lai at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and his colleagues may offer us all a way to boost our motivation. It is called the "easy addendum effect", and, as the name suggests, it involves ending each work session with a more pleasant task that will be relatively straightforward to complete.
The strategy was inspired by a phenomenon known as the "peak-end rule", which means we often judge events by the way they finish, rather than the overall experience. In one experiment, Daniel Kahneman and his colleagues asked participants to plunge their hands into water at unpleasantly cold temperatures, the first group simply in 14℃ water for 60 seconds, while the second one were given a further 30 seconds in water at 15℃. Surprisingly, most preferred the second option. It seems their memory of the experiment only focused on the last moments, which was slightly more pleasant in the 90-second set-up.
The research suggests that our impressions of work fall prey to the same preference — and we can use that to our advantage. Lai's team gave participants a series of dull tasks — from flexing their muscles against heavy weights to sorting books into alphabetical order or answering customer complaints. In each case, participants performed the tasks with or without an "easy addendum" attached to the end of the job. Those testing their strength were given a few extra rounds of lighter weights while those answering customer queries with some more straightforward requests.
Much like the ice-bath experiments, there was no logical reason why loading on additional work to an existing task should make it more pleasant overall. But the researchers found that the "easy addendums" significantly reduced the anticipated difficulty and increased participants` satisfaction with their jobs.
Since learning about Lai's research, I have tried applying this strategy to my own work. Writing is still my favourite part of the job, and so this article was a pleasant addendum to an otherwise demanding day of research for another one. By putting these words on the page, I feel far more energised about the work behind me — and readier to enjoy the evening ahead.
1. Which is the author's initial aspiration as a science writer?| A．To enjoy a challenging and enjoyable career. |
| B．To have a daily routine filled with creativity. |
| C．To conduct research and write technical papers. |
| D．To strike gold with every story they research. |
| A．Weaken. | B．Boost. | C．Inspire. | D．Refuse. |
| A．Participants could not bear 14°C longer than those could in 15℃. |
| B．Participants were unwilling to be loaded on additional work. |
| C．Participants usually cared more about the end of events. |
| D．Participants performed the tasks with an “easy addendum”. |
| A．No man is content if he or she is given more work. |
| B．“Easy addendum” can reduce difficulties in jobs. |
| C．One's pleasure comes through suffering in jobs. |
| D．“Easy addendum” can increase job satisfaction. |
2 . Until recently, gravitational waves could have been the stuff of Einstein’s imagination. Before they were detected, these waves in space time existed only in the physicist’s general theory of relativity, as far as scientists knew. Now, researchers are on the hunt for more ways to detect the waves. “The study of gravitational waves is booming,” says astrophysicist Karan Jani of Vanderbilt University in Nashville. “This is just remarkable. No field I can think of in fundamental physics has seen progress this fast.”
Just as light comes in a variety of wavelengths, so do gravitational waves. Different wave lengths point to different types of origins of the universe and require different kinds of detectors. Gravitational waves with wavelengths of a few thousand kilometers—like those detected by the United States, Italy and Japan—come mostly from pairs of black holes 10 or so times the mass of the sun, or from collisions of dense cosmic blocks called neutron stars (中子星). These detectors could also spot waves from certain types of exploding stars and rapidly moving neutron stars.
In contrast, huge waves that span light-years are thought to be created by orbiting pairs of bigger black holes with masses billions of times that of the sun. In June, scientists reported the first strong evidence of these types of waves by turning the entire galaxy (星系) into a detector, watching how the waves make slight changes to the timing of regular blinks from neutron stars throughout the Milky Way.
Physicists now hope to dive into a vast, cosmic ocean of gravitational waves of all sorts of sizes. These waves could reveal new details about the secret lives of exotic objects such as black holes and unknown parts of the universe.
Physicist Jason Hogan of Stanford University thinks there are still a lot of gaps in the coverage of wavelengths. “But it makes sense to cover all the bases. Who knows what else we may find?” he says. The search for capturing the full complement of the universe’s gravitational waves exactly could take observatories out into the moon, to the atomic area and elsewhere.
1. What does Karan Jani think of the current study on gravitational waves?| A．It is rapid and pioneering. |
| B．It is slow but steadily increasing. |
| C．It is interrupted due to limited detectors. |
| D．It is progressing as fast as any other field. |
| A．The creation of different kinds of detectors. |
| B．Collisions of planets outside the solar system. |
| C．The presence of light in different wavelengths. |
| D．Activities involving black holes and neutron stars. |
| A．By analyzing sunlight. |
| B．By locating the new galaxy. |
| C．By using the whole galaxy as a tool. |
| D．By observing the sun’s regular movement. |
| A．It’ll exclude the atomic field. |
| B．It’ll focus exactly on the mapping of the galaxy. |
| C．It’ll require prioritizing certain wavelengths on the moon. |
| D．It’ll explore potential places to detect gravitational waves. |
3 . I used to tell my children that they were smart, because I was impressed by their rapid growth. I remember clearly watching my daughter figure out how to build a Lego house that would stand up on its own, and thinking: Look at this tiny architectural genius.
But decades of research now suggest that we should not tell our children they’re “smart” when they do impressive things. When I first heard it, I felt instinctively annoyed. But after I dug into the research, I was persuaded. It all goes back to something called “growth” mindset (心态), a term developed and popularized by Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford. Professor Dweck believes that we can change our abilities through effort and strategy. The alternative to a growth mindset is a “fixed” mindset — the idea that our abilities are inborn and can’t be changed. When we praise our children for being “smart,” based on victories like doing well on a test, we’re unconsciously encouraging them to believe that if they do poorly or make mistakes, they’re not smart.
It’s not just what we say that matters, but how we tolerate our children’s failures. A 2016 study by Dweck showed that parents’ “failure mind-sets” affect their children more than their views on intelligence. In other words, if parents think that failure is shameful, their children are more likely to be afraid of making mistakes. The study concludes that everyone is actually a mixture of fixed and growth mindsets, continually evolving with experience. Whatever we say or don’t say to our kids, the key is to get them more comfortable with failures big or small.
It’s helpful for kids to understand that you make mistakes and learn how they happen. When you chat with them, you can describe what you learned, or how you strategized a solution. “You don’t have to deny you have negative emotional reactions,” Dweck said. “We, as a society, don’t do that enough because we feel embarrassed when we make mistakes.” But if we discuss our missteps more and explain how we overcame them, our children can learn to do the same.
1. What did the author initially think of the research’s advice?| A．Convincing. | B．Advanced. | C．Inaccessible. | D．Unacceptable. |
| A．smartness is the key to success |
| B．difficulties in daily life teach them a lot |
| C．their abilities can be improved through hard work |
| D．they are impressive due to their good grades on tests |
| A．Affect the children via their own experience. |
| B．Hide their negative feelings from children. |
| C．Remind children to avoid making mistakes. |
| D．Pay attention to develop children’s intelligence. |
| A．The effect of a fixed mindset on children. |
| B．“Being smart” doesn’t prepare kids for failure. |
| C．The importance of being smart in family interaction. |
| D．“Being smart” is the power of praising in children’s growth. |
4 . Hiring processes can be thought of as a battle between integrity and dishonesty. You might imagine this is a simple fight between truth-seeking firms and self-promoting candidates, and to a certain extent it is. But companies themselves are prone (有倾向的) to bend reality out of shape in ways that are self-defeating.
Start with the obvious wrongdoers: job applicants. When it comes to writing the resume (简历), they tend to massage (美化) reality into the most appealing shape possible. Everyone beyond a certain level of experience is a transformational leader personally responsible for generating millions income; the world economy would be about 15 times bigger than it actually is if all such claims were true. The average British spends four and a half hours a day watching TV and online videos. But each average job candidate is an enthusiast for public welfare, using their spare time only for worthy purposes, like volunteering in soup kitchens.
But the tendency to stretch the truth infects companies as well as applicants. The typical firm will write a job description that invariably describes the work environment as fast-paced and innovative, and then lays out a set of improbable requirements for the “ideal candidate”, someone who almost by definition does not exist. Sometimes, the requirements include an ability to go back and change the course of history.
Too few firms offer an accurate account of what a position actually involves in their job previews, which are supposed to give prospective employees a genuine sense of the negatives and positives of the job, as well as a clear idea of the company’s corporate culture. One effective strategy is to lay out in text or video, what a typical day in the role would look like.
Such honesty can be its own reward. Research has long suggested that realistic job previews lead to lower turnover and higher employee satisfaction. A paper in 2011 by David Eamest of Towson University and his co-authors concluded that favourable perceptions of the organisation’s honesty are the best explanation for why. So a process designed to uncover the truth about job applicants would run a lot more smoothly if firms were also honest about themselves.
1. Why are “leader” and “enthusiast” mentioned in paragraph 2?| A．To present a rule. | B．To clarify a fact. |
| C．To make a comparison. | D．To explain a phenomenon. |
| A．Overstate. | B．Overturn. | C．Overlook. | D．Overestimate. |
| A．They show a position as it is. | B．They are made either in text or video. |
| C．They are favorable for bigger firms. | D．They mainly contain negatives of a job. |
| A．Pains and gains of employees. | B．How to get the lying out of hiring. |
| C．How to be more appealing in hiring. | D．A wrestle between applicants and companies. |
5 . The very definition of love is an intense feeling of deep affection. Love
Meet the Feltons. Their daughter Lily is on the autism spectrum (自闭症), and I met this
Soon Tesla has won the
This is
When Felton called me to ask a
This was seemingly a small act of kindness on my part, but, little did the Feltons know, they were
| A．falls into | B．comes in | C．ends up | D．divides in |
| A．shocked | B．beat | C．captured | D．broke |
| A．weird | B．amazing | C．unlucky | D．delicate |
| A．make | B．motto | C．brand | D．pattern |
| A．Accidentally | B．Initially | C．Naturally | D．Casually |
| A．regret | B．regain | C．retell | D．recall |
| A．ride | B．play | C．drive | D．enjoy |
| A．pursued | B．lived | C．fulfilled | D．raised |
| A．praises | B．hearts | C．admissions | D．awards |
| A．advice | B．trend | C．expectation | D．guidance |
| A．why | B．what | C．when | D．where |
| A．diagnosed | B．infected | C．treated | D．observed |
| A．trouble | B．nature | C．risk | D．role |
| A．souvenir | B．challenge | C．tip | D．item |
| A．inspiration | B．experience | C．admiration | D．impression |
| A．behavioral | B．financial | C．unique | D．technical |
| A．break | B．slip | C．burst | D．escape |
| A．declined | B．accepted | C．struggled | D．denied |
| A．taste | B．share | C．favorite | D．moment |
| A．simply | B．actually | C．normally | D．obviously |
6 . Many people associate the English language with literature, whether that is poetry, novels or plays. However, for Nathan, English is
Winner of the 2021 Student of the Year Linguist（English）Award, Nathan was born with a stutter（口吃）. As a child, his speech disorder
However, even at a young age, he knew avoiding the problem was not a（n）
As a person who once had trouble
| A．other than | B．more than | C．rather than | D．less than |
| A．motivation | B．interest | C．imagination | D．confidence |
| A．hid | B．worsened | C．disappeared | D．improved |
| A．nervous | B．sensible | C．cautious | D．excited |
| A．possibility | B．purpose | C．option | D．escape |
| A．ignore | B．remove | C．recognize | D．accept |
| A．witnessed | B．presented | C．challenged | D．received |
| A．English | B．literature | C．discipline | D．speech |
| A．international | B．downtown | C．disadvantaged | D．diverse |
| A．think | B．expect | C．regret | D．promise |
| A．goal | B．barrier | C．reason | D．way |
| A．wealth | B．weakness | C．talent | D．friendliness |
| A．keeping | B．justifying | C．expressing | D．forming |
| A．attitude | B．passion | C．efficiency | D．clearness |
| A．assume | B．persuade | C．decide | D．discover |
| A．tip | B．rule | C．path | D．routine |
| A．help | B．combine | C．charge | D．share |
| A．impact | B．progress | C．devotion | D．success |
| A．get rid of | B．live up to | C．get across to | D．take charge of |
| A．confirming | B．simplifying | C．developing | D．obtaining |
7 . Sweeteners(甜味剂)are consumed by millions every day in products like diet soda, partly as a way to avoid weight gain from sugar-but how healthy these substitutes are has long been controversial.
To assess the cancer risk of sweeteners, researchers analysed the data of more than 100,000 people in France who self-reported their diet, lifestyle and medical history in intervals between 2009-2021.
“The participants who consumed the largest amount of sweeteners, beyond the middle amount, had an increased cancer risk of 13 percent compared to non-consumers,” said Mathilde Touvier, research director at France’s INSERM institute.
The study said that a higher cancer risk was particularly seen with sweeteners aspartame(阿巴斯甜)and acesulfame potassium(安赛蜜), used in many soft drinks including Coke Zero. Soft drinks accounted for more than half of the artificial sweeteners consumed, while table-top sweeteners represented 29 percent.
The study found that “higher risks were observed for breast cancer and obesity-related cancers”. Touvier said “we cannot totally exclude biases linked to the lifestyle of consumers”, calling for further research to confirm the study’s results.
The US National Cancer Institute and Cancer Research UK both say that sweeteners do not cause cancer, and they have been authorised for use by the European Food Safety Authority. Michael Jones of The Institute of Cancer Research, London said that the link reported in the study was “not proof that artificial sweeteners cause cancer”.
He said the findings could suggest that “cancer risk may be raised in the type of person who uses artificial sweetener rather than the sweetener itself.”
Thursday’s findings also do not mean consumers should rush back to sugary drinks-a former study found that they were also linked to a higher risk of several cancer types.
1. Why do people prefer to choose products with sweeteners?| A．These products are cheap in price. |
| B．Sweeteners used in them are totally safe. |
| C．Sweeteners in them help people not to put on weight. |
| D．These products have better taste than those with sugar. |
| A．Scientists mainly focus on sweeteners used in soft drinks. |
| B．The findings were not supported by all scientists and institutes. |
| C．The data was collected on a large scale for no more than ten years. |
| D．The intake of sweeteners can lead to 13%participants facing cancer risk. |
| A．Artificial sweeteners shouldn’t be used cautiously. |
| B．Drinking much diet soda will bring in lower risk of cancer. |
| C．People should take in food with sugar instead of sweeteners. |
| D．Cancer risk may have much to do with the lifestyle of people. |
| A．Sweeteners increasing cancer risk: not for sure | B．The future of employing artificial sweeteners |
| C．Time to rush back to sugary drinks | D．A large-scale study on sweeteners |
8 . “It’s alarming that5 0 percent of species could go extinct in the UK in the near future,” Harvey, 18, told Rustic Pathways, “To fight the ecological crisis, we have to start restoring.” That’s why he and his friend Tom founded the organization Celtic Reptile & Amphibian to breed(培育)endangered native species as to reintroduce them back into the wild.
Harvey’ inspiration was sparked by a trip to a rewilded farm in Devon. Here famous expert Derek has successfully reintroduced beavers(海狸), previously extinct in the UK, and is also breeding wild pigs and cats.
This visit has inspired Harvey to start restoring wild animal populations. But why reptiles and amphibians? Harvey put it simply, “The fact of the matter is, they are food, especially frogs and lizards.” Reptiles and amphibians are food for birds and various other species. They are working on restoring 10 different types of species as to provide food in support of the ecosystem.
During 2020, staying at home due to the pandemic, Harvey and Tom used their weekends and evenings and sometimes all night to build a reptile facility in their backyard. They now do different tasks to better run the facility, including feeding the animals and holding meetings with wildlife biologists.
Harvey has introduced a set of guidelines of International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN)for reintroduction and migration. The guidelines ensure that the reintroduction is as successful as possible, based on a science-based approach.
Now Harvey is taking a gap year before his university education. He wants to get the business to a more self-sustainable level. “Although it’s a small piece of rewilding, we hope the message that Celtic Reptile & Amphibian holds is that we can rewild the world. We must rewild the world and we must do it now,” Harvey added.
1. What inspired Harvey to establish Celtue Reptile & Amphibian?| A．A successful rewilded farm. | B．The global environmental crisis. |
| C．His interest in beavers in the UK. | D．A well-known expert’s encouragement. |
| A．Many of them are close to extinction. | B．They are easier to breed than other species. |
| C．They feed on birds and many other species. | D．They play an important role in the ecosystem. |
| A．Harvey’s vision for their business. | B．The background of IUCN guidelines. |
| C．Challenges of running the organization. | D．The team’s efforts in reintroducing species. |
| A．Creative and humorous. | B．Kindhearted and modest. |
| C．Diligent and responsible. | D．Independent and cautious. |
9 . Why does our body require warm covers but not our face when it’s cold? The following are the reasons.
Firstly, don’t forget that your head does have some insulation (隔热).
Secondly, the air temperature near your head won’t be as cold as the room, because the microclimate around your head will be warmed by heat lost from your head and by your exhaled (呼出) breath.
Then there is physiology. Your sensation of thermal (热的) comfort is primarily driven by skin temperature. This depends on blood flow to the skin. In a cool environment, the hands and feet reduce their blood flow to very low levels.
There are also differences in the impact of different body regions on the overall sensation of cold and thermal comfort. The temperature of the hands and feet dominate your overall perception of how cold you are.
| A．Remember to put a hat on. |
| B．It often has hair and is insulated by it. |
| C．The latter is warmed in the lungs to about 33℃. |
| D．There is nothing worse than going out in the cold with wet hair. |
| E．This is why you can’t fall asleep until your feet warm up in bed. |
| F．In contrast, the blood flow to the head doesn’t decrease as much. |
| G．Also, remember that the face is adapted to exposing to the elements. |
10 . How can you use curiosity to enjoy your studies more and improve your results? Below are some hints of how you can awaken your curiosity.
Listen to yourself when you ask questions
Ask quality questions
Ask good questions such as “why” “what if” and “how”. The better the questions you ask, the more interesting answers you will find.
Play around with new things and ideas
Learn to play with and think about your ideas, your feelings and new materials and objects. “What can you do with these ideas, feelings and things? Maybe they could be used in an essay, article, poem or science experiment, or could be a gift or favour for someone else.
Work with new people in class
Don’t always join the same friends for group projects in class.
Have you heard something interesting in the news—a social problem or new technology that interests you? Find out more about it. Then remember if you have studied anything about that subject.
| A．Something magical happens |
| B．Different people work differently |
| C．Keep an ear open for current events |
| D．If you can apply curiosity to your study |
| E．When you are reading or studying something |
| F．Always be prepared to think about things in new ways |
| G．All of this will contribute to your classroom learning |
