My aunt Jennifer is an
2 . We have been defending humanities for many decades now, but the crisis of the humanities only grows. In the face of declining student interest and mounting political scrutiny (审查), universities and colleges are increasingly putting humanities departments on the chopping block.
As a humanist, I am prepared to admit that I do not know what the value of the humanities is. I once asked the best teacher I ever had why she no longer taught her favorite novel, and she said that she stopped teaching a book when she found she was no longer curious about it. The humanistic spirit is, fundamentally, an inquisitive one.
In contrast, defenses of the humanities are not - and cannot be - conducted in an inquisitive spirit, because a defensive spirit is inimical to an inquisitive one. Defensiveness is, it must be admitted, an understandable response when the chopping block is brought out and you need to explain why you shouldn’t be on it, which requires their participants to pretend to know things that they do not actually know.
Nonetheless, we should be alert to the danger of becoming accustomed to putting our worst foot forward. An atmosphere of urgency and calls for immediate action are hostile to fields of study like literature and philosophy that require a reflective mood, and the pretense (假装) of knowing what one doesn’t actually know is hostile to forms of inquiry that demand an open mind.
A defensive mindset also encourages politicization. If the study of literature or philosophy helps to fight sexism or to promote democracy — and everyone agrees that sexism is bad, and democracy is good-then you have your answer as to why we shouldn’t cut funding for the study of literature or philosophy. Politicization is a way of arming the humanities for its political battles, but it comes at an intellectual cost. Why is sexism so bad? Why is democracy so good? Politicization silences these and other questions, whereas the function of the humanities is to raise them.
Humanists are not alone in their ignorance about the purpose of their disciplines. But scientists are under a lot less pressure to explain why they exist because the society at large believes itself to already have the answer to that question. If at some point I am called on to defend the study of Homer or Descartes at some official hearing, I will do my best, but I will not run to battle; the battle will have to come to me.
The task of humanists is to invite, to welcome, to excite, to engage. And when we let ourselves classrooms but also in our public-self presentation, we find we don’t need to defend or prove anything: We are irresistible.
1. What is the main concern regarding the crisis in humanities?| A．Students’ lack of interest in studying humanities courses. |
| B．People’s little knowledge regarding the purpose of humanities. |
| C．The mounting political scrutiny faced by humanities departments. |
| D．The pressure on humanists to argue for the value of their disciplines. |
| A．contrary. | B．relevant. | C．sensitive. | D．immune. |
| A．It is the worst action to take in the face of the crisis. |
| B．It leads to a compromise on human’s intellectual depth. |
| C．It requires a reflective mood on the study of humanities. |
| D．It brings about a lower chance of survival for humanities. |
| A．Humanities may not need any defense. | B．Science is more useful than humanities. |
| C．The future of humanities remains cloudy. | D．The battle of humanities is a hard one to fight. |
Language learning not only improves your ability to express yourself but also
4 . I am one of the many city people who are always saying that given the choice we would prefer to live in the country away from the dirt and noise of a large city. I have managed to convince myself that if it weren’t for my job I would immediately head out for the open spaces and go back to nature in some sleepy village buried in the country. But how realistic (现实的) is the dream?
Cities can be frightening places. The majority of the population live in huge tower blocks, noisy, dirty and unfriendly. The sense of belonging to a group tends to disappear when you live fifteen floors up. Strangely enough, nowadays people on the same floor don’t even say hello to each other.
Country life, on the other hand, differs in that a sense of group generally unites the people of small villages together. People have the advantage of knowing that there is always someone to turn to when they need help. But it is also true that you are cut off from the exciting and important events that take place in cities. Shopping becomes a major problem, and for anything slightly out of the ordinary you have to go on a trip to the nearest large town. The city people are often worried by a sense of unbearable stillness and quiet.
What, then, is the answer? The country has the advantage of peace and quiet, but suffers from the disadvantage of being cut off. The city raises a feeling of loneliness, and constant noise beats the senses. But you are at the centre of things, and that life doesn’t come to an end at half-past nine at night. Some people have found or rather bought a solution between the two: they have expressed their preference for the “quiet life” by leaving the cities and moving to villages within commuting (通勤) distance of large cities.
What then of my dream? I’m eager for the idea, but you see there’s my cat, Toby. I’m not at all sure that he would take to all that fresh air and exercise in the long grass. I mean, can you see him mixing with all those energetic males down the farm? No, he would rather have the electric fire any evening.
1. Which of the following makes city people unhappy?| A．Colorful life. | B．A sense of group. | C．Close neighborhood. | D．A feeling of loneliness. |
| A．Designer clothes. | B．Farming tools. | C．Daily supplies. | D．Fresh vegetables. |
| A．enjoys living in huge tower blocks | B．is in two minds |
| C．will continue his life in the city | D．will move to the country |
Fishing is my favorite sport. I often fish for hours without catching anything. But this does not worry me. Some fishermen are unlucky. Instead of catching fish, they catch old boots and rubbish. I am even
Crowd control could soon become an important skill for climbers on Mount Everest, as important as physical strength or watching the weather. In a single day last week, nearly 40 people reached the top of the world — a record. Reports from base camp spoke of queues at dangerous ridges and crowds as people passed each other in the final dash for the 8,848 meters top.
More traditional mountaineers have been concerned about the circus atmosphere surrounding Everest in recent years, and there are warnings that the crowds are making the mountain more dangerous. In 1996, 14 died on the mountain when the members of several groups were trapped at high altitudes by sudden snowstorms. Bad weather in early May led to this year’s jam on the summit ridge, but the loss, luckily, was light. Just four climbers died, including a Nepali Sherpa who had made 11 previous successful climbing.
Traditionalists are also worried about the growing tendency of climbers to set records and achieve “firsts”, rather than simply climb the mountain. This year’s crop of mountaineers included the oldest man, 64-year-old Sherman Bull from Connecticut, and the youngest, 16-year-old Temba Tsheri Sherpa of Nepal. An American with only one arm was on the mountain this year; an Indian with no legs also tried but failed. Erik Weihennieyer, an American, became the first blind person to reach the top of the world. His fellow climbers stayed in front of him on the way up, describing the type of land and ringing bells.
Nepal views Mount Everest as something of a cash cow. The government charges journeys a minimum of $70,000. That is probably why officials in Katmandu are ignoring concerns about overcrowding and talking about even more climbers coming next year. But a celebration of the 48th anniversary of the first conquest of Everest, by Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, was cancelled after violent strikes. Tumultuous (动乱的) Nepali politics, it seems, could be just the crowd-control measure that Everest needs.
1. According to the author, what skills are important for climbers on Mount Everest?2. What are traditional mountaineers worried about?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
●The Nepal government cares little about the overcrowding problem because of its internal tumultuous politics.
4. Do you think it is a good idea to limit the number of visitors to a tourist attraction? Why?
7 . Endless studies show the physical, mental and longevity-based benefits of working out, while plenty suggest that avoiding activity is bad. But headlines about someone collapsing after a row always stick in the mind. So, how risky is training too hard?
The NHS recommends that healthy adults aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity — but doesn’t suggest where to stop. This is because the ability to handle excess exertion (过度努力) depends on many varied factors.
The exact cause of “overtraining”, in the sense of doing too much over an extended period, is still being debated.
The best advice is to pay attention when you lack energy or feel unwell and back off a bit. If you are a runner, this can also help with the common complaint of shin splints (胫骨骨膜炎), or more serious stress fractures, which are tiny cracks in the bone itself. The latter, which can be due to a sudden increase in training intensity, won’t heal until you ease off.
“The obvious risk factors are linked to impact and exertion,” says Steve Hoyles, a personal trainer and gym owner. “Running is a high-impact activity and analysis shows that inexperienced runners suffer an average of 17.8 injuries per 1,000 hours, whereas in gym users the average is 5.3 injuries per 1,000 hours.
| A．The story is similar for men and women at risk of stroke. |
| B．So do your best to avoid them by not pushing too hard, or too fast. |
| C．Some experts theorise that it’s all about the central nervous system. |
| D．Swimming and cycling are low-impact but offer limited strength benefits. |
| E．And is there a way to make sure you never cross that red line into dangerous territory? |
| F．If you don’t have existing problems, the chances of something going wrong are very low. |
| G．Exercise will improve your quality of life and almost certainly your chances of living longer. |
How to stay positive when things don’t go as
People face all kinds of problems in life. There are personal crises, such as illness, loss of a loved one, abuse, bullying, job loss, and financial instability. People have to learn to cope with and work through very challenging life experiences. In those experiences, resilience is the key factor for people to overcome challenges.
Resilience is the ability of people to feel better quickly after something unpleasant. Resilient people do experience stress, setbacks, and difficult emotions, but they tap into their strengths and seek help from support systems to overcome challenges and work through problems. Resilience empowers people to accept and adapt to a situation and move forward. It is the core strength people use to lift the load of life.
Kids confront any number of challenges as they grow — from starting school and making new friends to adverse experiences, such as bullying and abuse. Building resilience can help children manage stress and feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. Young people need help learning to develop resilience in a stressful world. It isn’t as easy as telling them to try again. They need social support. Parents can help children develop resilience through positive behaviors and thoughts, such as setting realistic goals, maintaining a daily routine, encouraging self-discovery, accepting change as part of life and so on. Young people live up or down to the expectations that are set for them and need adults who love them unconditionally and hold them to high expectations. Most importantly, how parents model resilience for young people is far more important than what they say about it.
Building resilience is a process by which people use flexibility to reframe thought patterns and learn to tap into a strengths-based approach to working through challenges. With resilience, a person may feel equipped to manage stresses. Resilience is not a long-lasting state but resilience can be learned.
1. What is resilience?2. Why do people need resilience?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
What parents say plays a more important role in helping young people to develop resilience.
4. What can you do to build your resilience?
10 . A new study by scientists at Utrecht University concludes that about half of global wastewater is treated, rather than the previous estimate of 20%. Despite this promising finding, the authors warn that treatment rates in developing countries are still very low.
Humans and factories produce vast quantities of wastewater per day. If not properly collected and treated, wastewater may severely threaten human health and pollute the environment.
The authors use national statistics to estimate volumes of wastewater production, collection, treatment and reuse. “Globally, about 359 billion cubic metres of wastewater is produced each year, equivalent to 144 million Olympic-sized swimming pools,” says Edward Jones, PhD researcher at Utrecht University. “About 48 percent of that water is currently released untreated. This is much lower than the frequently announced figure of 80%.”
While the results show a more optimistic outlook, the authors stress that many challenges still exist. “We see that particularly in the developing world, where most of the future population growth will likely occur, treatment rates are falling behind,” Jones explains. “In these countries, wastewater production is likely to rise at a faster pace than the current development of collection and treatment basic facilities. This poses serious threats to both human health and the environment.”
The main problem, especially in the developing world, is the lack of financial resources to build basic facilities to collect and treat wastewater. This is particularly the case for advanced treatment technologies, which can be extremely expensive. However, the authors highlight potential opportunities for creative reuse of wastewater streams that could help to finance improved wastewater treatment practices.
“The most obvious reuse of treated wastewater is to increase freshwater water supplies,” Jones states. Treated wastewater reuse is already an important source of irrigation water in many dry countries. However, only 11% of the wastewater produced globally is currently being reused, which shows large opportunities for expansion.
“But freshwater increasing is not the only opportunity,” says Jones. “Wastewater also has large potential as a source of nutrients and energy. Recognition of wastewater as a resource, opposed to as ‘waste’, will be the key to driving improved treatment going forward.”
However, the authors stress the importance of proper monitoring of wastewater treatment factories, accompanied by strong legislation (法律) and regulations, to ensure that the reuse of wastewater is safe. The authors also acknowledge public acceptance as another key barrier towards increasing wastewater reuse.
1. According to the author, the meaning of treating wastewater lies in ________.| A．encouraging new scientific findings |
| B．estimating volumes of wastewater production |
| C．ensuring human health and protecting the environment |
| D．measuring how much wastewater is produced globally per day |
| A．equal | B．harmful | C．useful | D．friendly |
| A．treated wastewater can’t be used as irrigation water |
| B．wastewater production in developing countries is falling |
| C．the treatment of wastewater is more serious than estimated |
| D．public recognition plays an important role in wastewater reuse |
