1 . Art Builds Understanding
Despite the long history of scholarship on experiences of art, researchers have yet to capture and understand the most meaningful aspects of such experiences, including the thoughts and insights we gain when we visit a museum, the sense of encounter after seeing a meaningful work of art, or the changed thinking after experiences with art. These powerful encounters can be inspiring, uplifting, and contribute to well-being and flourishing.
According to the mirror model of art developed by Pablo P. L. Tinio, aesthetic reception corresponds to artistic creation in a mirror-reversed fashion. Artists aim to express ideas and messages about the human condition or the world at large.
In addition, art making and art viewing are connected by creative thinking. Research in a lab at Yale University shows that an educational program that uses art appreciation activities builds creative thinking skills. It showed that the more time visitors spent engaging with art and the more they reflected on it, the greater the correspondence with the artists’ intentions and ideas.
Correspondence in feeling and thinking suggests a transfer — between creator and viewer — of ideas, concepts, and emotions contained in the works of art. Art has the potential to communicate across space and time.
A.The viewers gain a new perspective on the story. |
B.The theory of aesthetic cognitivism describes the value of art. |
C.This helps to create connections and insights that otherwise would not happen. |
D.To do so, they explore key ideas and continually expand them as they develop their work. |
E.After spending more time with the work, the viewer begins to access the ideas of the artist. |
F.For example, in one activity, people are asked to view a work of art from different perspectives. |
G.Participants were more original in their thinking when compared to those who did not take part in the program. |
I had run away from home after finishing high school. My parents had insisted I go to college, but I was tired of school. I hated it. I was determined not to go. And, besides, my father was too strict. I had too many chores to do around the farm. I haled the work!
There had been a quarrel between my father and me. I threw some things into a bag and left angrily, as my father shouted after me, “If you leave, don’t come back!” My mother cried openly, and I had seen those tears during a hundred sleepless nights.
Then it was time to write a letter to my father.
Dear Dad,It’s been more than a year now. I’ve traveled east to west. I’ve had dozens of jobs. None of them amounted to very much. Always the same questions: “How much education have you got?” It seems they always want college men for the good jobs.
Dad, you and Mother were right about everything. I know now that the work on the farm didn’t hurt me, and I’m convinced I need college. I’m also convinced that both of you loved me.
Dad, I’ve learned a lesson. I want to come home. I know you said if I left, I couldn’t come back, but I’m praying you’ll change your mind. I want to come home and be a part of the family again.
Give my love to Mother and the girls.
Love,Your son
As I folded the letter and put it into an envelope, I felt a refreshing relief. It was as if a heavy load had been lifted from my shoulders. And I had to be on my way home.
I started down the desolate road—the long road home. Fortunately, a car picked me up, and it was good to have someone to talk with. The driver was a salesman and very pleasant.
“Where you going, boy?” he asked good-naturedly.
There was a long silence before I said, “Home.”
“Been away from home long?”
I smiled, a little self-conscious, and said, “One year, one month and two days.”
注意:1. 续写词数应为150个左右;2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Having heard my story, he expressed his support for my final decision and told me something surprising.
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___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1.关键要素;
2.你的理由。
注意:标题、开头和结尾都已给,请完成中间部分,根据要素的多少,写两段、三段或四段,字数80词左右。
Key elements of a great film
Nowadays films play an important role in our life. And every great film must involve many key elements. Opinions about them vary among people. Below are my ideas about key elements of a great film.
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Of course, there are many other elements leading to a great film. Anyway an outstanding film must come from its inner shining elements. What about your idea?
4 . When you look ahead at the year to come, I hope you focus on all the positives even if the negatives exist, because positive thinking can help you get where you want to go.
Positive thinking is not the same as optimism. Being optimistic means believing that everything is going to work out great. But positive thinking is more than that. It’s a mindset or a way of looking at the world and what you do.
To think positively, first of all, we need to look at problems, mistakes and failures as normal. Imagine you bomb a big job interview. A negative thinker will be upset by the fact that he didn’t get the job.
One trick to positive thinking is to imagine how you’ll think back to things that are happening now.
Positive thinking is a mental habit. It takes practice. Sometimes, we have to remind ourselves to focus on the future and on possibility.
A.A positive thinker will learn from the experience. |
B.Negative thinkers will look at failures as end points. |
C.Positive thinking often means separating the past and the future. |
D.It’s a belief in possibility, solutions to problems and the big picture. |
E.Sometimes, it’s hard to learn from our failures or see the big picture. |
F.We can see the power of positive thinking when it comes to problem-solving. |
G.You know from experience that the passing of time brings a fresh perspective. |
1. Why does the speaker organize the activity?
A.To prepare for Children’s Day. |
B.To celebrate the end of the school year. |
C.To welcome children in the neighborhood. |
A.Looking for the hidden gifts. |
B.Hiding around the center. |
C.Having a group discussion. |
A.Find the flags. | B.Write their names down. | C.Stay together with their parents. |
A.The preschool children. | B.The third-grade children. | C.The fourth-grade children. |
We had just taken a holiday of three days: from Saturday to Monday. Now, it was Tuesday morning, but in some way, it was like a Monday-the start of a new week. And after a busy and tiring holiday, it was time to go to work.
After I hurriedly got up, I looked out of my bedroom window. It was raining. I complained, “This weather is terrible. What an awful morning!” As I stepped out of the front door, a big wind turned my umbrella inside out, so I decided to run through the cold rain to my car. But I didn’t see a puddle (小水坑) until I stepped into it. My new shoes were completely wet. I had to rush back to my room for a change. When I was finally seated in my car, it stalled (熄火) twice before I could back out of the driveway. And I was worried that I would be late for work.
The traffic on the road was heavy. A horn (喇叭) honked—someone thought I wasn’t going fast enough. “This day is terrible. Nothing is cheerful,” I said to myself. To drive easily, I decided to listen to the traffic report on the radio. Under the guidance of the announcer, I drove carefully. I was grateful for that.
Finally, after managing to navigate (导航) my route through the traffic, I decided to stop at a little coffee shop near my office to buy a cup of coffee. The line of cars at the drive-through stretched to the parking lot, so I figured it would be faster if I just got out and went inside.
Clearly, the coffee shop had many customers. I sighed impatiently as I waited in line until I reached the counter where I ignored the friendly greeting from the waiter. I ordered my favorite: a cup of coffee, extra cream and no sugar. Then my order was served. That’s when I realized I had left my wallet at home! I was both upset and embarrassed.
注意:
1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Noticing my anxiety, the man waiting in line behind me pulled out his wallet.
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When I got back into my car, I found the man walking in the rain.
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假定你是李华,最近学习了几篇关于体育方面的文章,请你给校英文报上投稿,介绍体育文化。要点如下:
1.奥运会:
2.体育习语,举例说明;
3.号召学生积极参加体育运动。
注意:
1.写作词数应为100左右;
2.可适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
Sports Culture
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8 . Scientists have discovered more than 5,000 new species living on the seabed in an untouched area of the Pacific Ocean that has been identified as a future hotspot for deep-sea mining, according to a review of the environmental surveys carried out in the area.
It is the first time the previously unknown biodiversity of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a mineral-rich area of the ocean floor that spans 1.7m sq miles between Hawaii and Mexico in the Pacific, has been comprehensively documented. The research will be critical to assessing the risk of extinction of the species, given contracts for deep-sea mining in the near-pristine area appear imminent.
Most of the animals identified by researchers exploring the zone are new to science, and almost all are unique to the region: only six, including a carnivorous sponge and a sea cucumber, have been seen elsewhere.
Contracts for mining exploration in the CCZ have been granted to 17 deep-sea mining contractors in an area covering 745,000 sq miles. The companies, which are backed by countries including Britain, the US and China, want to dig for minerals including cobalt manganese and nickel in part to sell to the alternative energy sector.
To better understand the impact of mining this fragile ecosystem and its newly discovered inhabitants, an international team of scientists has built the first “CCZ checklist” by compiling all the records from expeditions to the region. Published in the journal Current Biology, it includes 5,578 different species, of which an estimated 88% to 92% had never before been seen.
To study and collect specimens (样品) from the ocean floor, biologists have joined research cruises in the Pacific that send remote-controlled vehicles to traverse (穿越) the seabed 4,000 to 6,000 meters below. Adrian Glover, a deep-sea biologist at the NHM and senior author of the study described it as an “incredible privilege”. The expedition, funded through the Natural Environment Research Council and others, is backed by UK Seabed Resources (UKSR), a deep-sea mining company that operates the UK’s exploration area. The scientists watch operations by video link direct from the boat as new species are gathered by remote control vehicles in the darkness below.
The seabed, Glover said, is an “amazing place” where, despite the extreme cold and dark, life thrives. “One of the characteristics of the abyssal plain is the lack of food, but life has a way of persisting down there,” he said, “It’s a mystery.” One of the deep-sea animals discovered was nicknamed the “gummy squirrel”, because of its huge tail and jelly-like appearance, he said. There are also glass sponges, some of which look like vases.
With approval for deep-sea mining looming, Glover said he believed it was “imperative that we work with the companies looking to mine these resources to ensure any such activity is done in a way that limits its impact upon the natural world”.
1. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “imminent”?A.Easy to carry out. | B.Ready to take place. |
C.Hard to cope with. | D.Important to look over. |
A.Identifying new species living on the seabed. | B.Assessing the risk of extinction of species. |
C.Documenting the biodiversity of the area. | D.Exploring the potential for deep-sea mining. |
A.Abundance of food. | B.Extreme lifeless environment. |
C.Presence of glass sponges. | D.Prosperous life despite challenging conditions. |
A.A magic zone:available to mining companies |
B.A mineral-rich area: Clarion-Clipperton Zone |
C.An “amazing place”: new species booming |
D.Deep-sea wonders: the new species found in a Pacific mining hotspot |
9 . On March 7, 1907, the English statistician Francis Galton published a paper which illustrated what has come to be known as the “wisdom of crowds” effect. The experiment of estimation he conducted showed that in some cases, the average of a large number of independent estimates could be quite accurate.
This effect capitalizes on the fact that when people make errors, those errors aren’t always the same. Some people will tend to overestimate, and some to underestimate. When enough of these errors are averaged together, they cancel each other out, resulting in a more accurate estimate. If people are similar and tend to make the same errors, then their errors won’t cancel each other out. In more technical terms, the wisdom of crowds requires that people’s estimates be independent. If for whatever reasons, people’s errors become correlated or dependent, the accuracy of the estimate will go down.
But a new study led by Joaquin Navajas offered an interesting twist (转折) on this classic phenomenon. The key finding of the study was that when crowds were further divided into smaller groups that were allowed to have a discussion, the averages from these groups were more accurate than those from an equal number of independent individuals. For instance, the average obtained from the estimates of four discussion groups of five was significantly more accurate than the average obtained from 20 independent individuals.
In a follow-up study with 100 university students, the researchers tried to get a better sense of what the group members actually did in their discussion. Did they tend to go with those most confident about their estimates? Did they follow those least willing to change their minds? This happened some of the time, but it wasn’t the dominant response. Most frequently, the groups reported that they “shared arguments and reasoned together”. Somehow, these arguments and reasoning resulted in a global reduction in error. Although the studies led by Navajas have limitations and many questions remain, the potential implications for group discussion and decision-making are enormous.
1. What is paragraph 2 of the text mainly about?A.The methods of estimation. | B.The underlying logic of the effect. |
C.The causes of people’s errors. | D.The design of Galton’s experiment. |
A.the crowds were relatively small | B.there were occasional underestimates |
C.individuals did not communicate | D.estimates were not fully independent |
A.The size of the groups. | B.The dominant members. |
C.The discussion process. | D.The individual estimates. |
A.Unclear. | B.Dismissive. | C.Doubtful. | D.Approving. |
My middle child, Jake, was smart and good-looking, but he always sees the cup of life as half empty. Every day when he came home from school, Jake would list everything bad that happened that day!
On his ninth birthday, we saved enough money to take the family to Disneyland for two days. His dad and I didn’t make much then, so it cost a considerable amount, but we felt Jake’s birthday was worth it. After doing Disneyland to death (玩够了), we returned to our hotel room, all exhausted. And I asked the birthday boy, “Did you have fun today, Jake?”
All my fault-finding son could say to me was “Pirates (海盗) of the Caribbean was closed!” “Jake Marshall,” I was clearly unable to contain my anger, “we stood in line for an hour and a half to see The Haunted Mansion. We rode Space Mountain three times. We spent two days playing in the park, and all you can say is, Pirates of the Caribbean was closed?” Clearly, something had to be done about his negative attitude and I was going to be the one to do it!
I was determined to help him. I read every article and bought every book. With the help of great resources, I found my son had the tendency to see the worst in every situation. My research told me that people with negativity have an emotional need for order and sensitivity. That meant I needed to listen to my son’s daily pessimistic reports. My usual reaction was to try to talk Jake out of his negativity, but that wouldn’t satisfy his need for sensitivity, so I had to let him finish his complaints and ask what good things happened. Then I needed to wait until he could tell me. This would help Jake realize that good things really were happening to him.
注意:
1.所续写短文的词数应为150左右;
2.续写部分分为两段,每段的开头语已为你写好;
One day Jake came home from school and complained as usual.
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From then on, Jake came to understand the power of seeing good points.
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