7 . Nature Therapy

We need the tonic of wildness... At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.

--Thoreau

One major difference between our current lifestyle and those of our evolutionary past is an increasing ________ from natural settings with increased urbanization. But does this change have a major impact on our mental health? ________, a remedy for ill health or low spirits, if the means were available, would be to send someone to the quiet of the country or seashore and away from the bustle of city. The popularity of vacations to beautiful national parks, camping, outward bound, and even breaks for a picturesque walk in a________ greenspace to clear the mind would speak to some empirical (经验主义) ________ that nature does soothe the savage beast. And recently, scientists have been studying the idea of nature therapy with a bit more seriousness than a dashed-off prescription (处方) for a(n) ________.

We are now far________ from the natural world of our ancestors...more than 50% of people live in urban areas (increasing to > 70% by 2050). Increased urbanization is associated with increased levels of mental illness, particularly anxiety and depression. Growing up in a natural setting is relevant to a less________ stress response, and exposure to greenspace________ relates to a positive effect on well-being in a large two-decade study. Images and sounds of a natural environment can decrease stress in people exposed to negative stimuli. A large survey of mental health and neighborhood greenspace in Wisconsin showed significant correlation between the________ of nature and lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. There are many studies showing a similar relationships between nature exposure, relaxation, and well-being. But how does exposure to green space help us________, exactly?

Dr. Gregory Bratman’s group at Stanford has published a couple of paper following a small group of healthy volunteers told to have a 5 kilometers walk in the San Francisco Bay area. Half walked along a busy street while the other half went for a/an________ walk. The nature walk compared to walk along a busy street. Later, the same researchers did MRIs and measured blood flow in brain areas of healthy people who went on a 90 minute walk in the same urban vs. More natural setting. They found that the nature walkers had________ activity in a particular brain region, the subgenual prefrontal cortex. This area of the brain is associated with rumination, or worrying on the same issues over and over, a problem described often in depressive and anxiety disorders.

So there we have it in a world and environment where our brains are working overtime and we think and roll over ideas and worry, ________ to nature seems to get us out of our heads, with likely positive benefits. In the hyper-urban world to come, designing accessible, safe________ may help the mental health of the population, and preserving our natural landscapes to be enjoyed by our descendants will continue to be a national must. ________ , a prescription for a nice weekend hike could have some real measurable brain benefits.

1.

A．resistance

B．isolation

C．interruption

D．distance

2.

A．Currently

B．Generally

C．Historically

D．Fortunately

3.

A．local

B．imposing

C．fascinating

D．standard

4.

A．assistance

B．evidence

C．belief

D．approach

5.

A．cycling

B．swimming

C．adventure

D．hike

6.

A．removed

B．rid

C．driven

D．dropped

7.

A．slight

B．severe

C．similar

D．negative

8.

A．dominantly

B．lively

C．merely

D．significantly

9.

A．exposure

B．link

C．availability

D．necessity

10.

A．tolerate

B．unwind

C．swing

D．resolve

11.

A．casual

B．earnest

C．upright

D．scenic

12.

A．reduced

B．increased

C．intensified

D．balanced

13.

A．responses

B．contribution

C．approach

D．exposure

14.

A．communities

B．transportations

C．greenspaces

D．facilities

15.

A．In a word

B．For instance

C．In the meantime

D．In particular

8 . Directions：Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. advanced        B. concerns     C. governance     D. data     E. determined     F. track     G. identify     H. precautions       I. leading     J. technological       K. transform

The Rise of the Smart City

The information revolution is changing the way cities are run and the lives of its residents. Cities have a long way to go before they can be considered geniuses. But they're getting smart pretty fast.

In just the past few years, mayors and other officials in cities across the country have begun to draw on     1     about income, traffic, fires, illness, parking tickets and more—to handle many of the problems of urban life. Whether it's making it easier for residents to find parking places, or giving smoke alarms to the households that are most likely to suffer fatal fires, big-data technologies are beginning to     2     the way cities work.

Cities have just scratched the surface in using data to improve operations, but big changes are already under way in     3     smart cities, says Stephen Goldsmith，a professor of government and director of the Innovations in Government Program at the Harvard Kennedy School.“In terms of city     4     we are at one of the most consequential periods in the last century,” he says.

Although cities have been using data in various forms for decades，the modern practice of civic analytics (民情分析) has only begun to take off past few years, thanks to the     5     changes. Among them: the growth of cloud computing, which dramatically lowers the costs of storing information; new developments in machine learning, which put     6     analytical tools, in the hand of city officials, the Internet and the rise of inexpensive sensors that can keep     7     of vast amount of information such as traffic or air pollution; and the widespread use of smart phone apps and mobile devices that enable citizens and city workers alike to monitor problems and feed information about them back to city hall.

All this data collection raises understandable privacy     8    . Most cities have policies designed to safeguard citizen privacy and prevent the release of information that might     9     any one individual. In theory, anyway. Widespread use of sensors and video can also present privacy risks unless     10     are taken. The technology “is forcing cities to face questions of privacy that they haven't had to face before,” says Ben Green, a fellow at Harvard's BerkmanKlein Center for Internet and Society and lead author of a recent report on open-data privacy.

9 . Directions: Write an English composition in 120-150 words according to the instructions given below in Chinese.
假设你是明启中学学生李华，你在学校公众号（public platform）上看到一张志愿者招募启事。请根据该启事的要求，写一封邮件（邮件中不得提到自己的真实姓名和学校），就启事的三个活动任选其一，申请一份志愿者工作。

打卡！校园开放日招募志愿者啦 明启中学                                                                                                       今天

学校将于2022年1月1日举办校园开放日，以增进家校沟通，宣传学校办学成果。现就活动方案，招募志愿者。 活动一：拓展课（expansive course）介绍 活动二：田野调查活动的分享 活动三：柚子（shaddock）节活动的分享 有意者给校长室发邮件并告知: 1. 你想报名参加的志愿者活动； 2. 你参加着这项志愿者活动的理由； 3. 你可以为该活动做些什么。 联系方式： 2021campus-open-day@mingqischool.cn. 2021年11月29日

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10 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.

A．A training coach.	B．A market supervisor.
C．A senior psychologist.	D．A financial trader.

2.

A．He can save on living expenses.	B．He considers cooking creative.
C．He can enjoy healthier food.	D．He finds a take-away tasteless.

3.

A．It can be a pleasant thing.	B．It is frustrating sometimes.
C．It takes patience to manage.	D．It is hard to use correctly.

4.

A．The man has great difficulty in escaping the markets.

B．The man seldom cares about emotional management.

C．The man considers stress in financial market unbeatable.

D．The man often gets relaxed by exercising in the evening.