1 . We’re lucky to live in an age when the sum total of human knowledge is pretty available at the click of a button. We’ ve never had access to so much information.
Watch out for confirmation prejudice(偏见).
Acknowledge small differences. In life, most situations are varying and complicated. Admitting that can enrich the way that we view the world. For example, what colour is the sky? Well, the obvious answer is blue. But at sunrise or sunset, it can be red. On a cold misty morning, white or gray.
Practise intellectual humility (谦逊). One approach to, well, arguing, is to let go of the idea of being “right”. Or at least seriously consider that you might actually be wrong.
Engaging in critical thinking isn’t as fun as picking up a pitchfork, or feeling like you’re fundamentally right. But in the long run, it leads to a more curious, educated and harmonious society, which is the biggest win of all.
| A．Avoid mistakes |
| B．Check your sources |
| C．We all enjoy feeling like we’re right |
| D．But not all of what’s out there is quite what it seems |
| E．So pay attention to differences in many situations |
| F．So don’t rush to decide, and be actively prepared to change your mind |
| G．Putting yourself into the other person’s shoes can have more fruitful outcomes |
| A．picks up | B．takes up | C．makes up | D．gives up |
4 . 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. |
5 . China has been the birthplace of many of the world’s greatest inventions. It was, for example, the first country to produce paper money. Before the invention of paper money and coin, people used many different kinds of things for buying and selling.
In the years which followed this invention, many other countries around the world began to do the same.
About 1,000 years later, leather was used as money in China, and in 806 AD, the first banknotes were produced by the Chinese people.
| A．As time went by, trade between countries increased. |
| B．People also began collecting foreign coins as souvenirs. |
| C．They also used tiny shells as money for buying and selling. |
| D．It was still many years before paper currency appeared in Europe. |
| E．However, as the economy developed, such exchanges became impractical. |
| F．During that time, for example, buying a chicken might cost several potatoes. |
| G．The very first coins often had holes in them so that people could string them together. |
1. 活动的目的、时间、地点；
2. 活动的过程；
3. 活动的反响。
注意：
1. 词数80左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
A Lecture on Traffic Safety
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From her point of view, hard work usually
He can speak different languages,
Everyone must always
