1 . “Oh, but it’s okay for you, you’re really confident”, a friend says. As a journalist, I’ve been to war zones, interviewed politicians, and delivered after-dinner speeches. But deep down, these occasions are a struggle. While I can make up a game face when needed, the common day-to-day situation can leave me uncomfortable. I’ll do anything to avoid making phone calls by booking online or ordering takeaways via apps. I’ve spent years longing for the day when those feelings disappear.

That day may have come, thanks to a new book. When Viv Groskop decided on a career change from journalist to stand-up comedian, she knew she’d have to master confidence, so made it her business to understand it. Since then she’s analysed research, interviewed people, and is sharing everything she’s discovered in a new book, Happy High Status, which is published this month.

So what is Happy High Status? The way you feel when everything’s great — the calm, easy confidence that comes with low pressure situations and happy moments. The opposite is how we feel in stressful situations, when? imposter syndrome, doubt about one’s own abilities despite achievements, is at an all-time high. “It’s how you are when you’re not questioning who you are. It’s just trying to bring that more relaxed, calm version of yourself,” explains Groskop.

“You don’t need to think that when you have a physical reaction in a pressured situation, there is something wrong with you. The trick is to take away the emotional stories you tell yourself,” she explains. “Yet you have no training as to how to feel confident when you’re doing those things.” Her advice is to take a moment — put your phone down, empty your mind of its inner worry and try to get to the low pressure version of you.

Perhaps everything I’ve worried about for so long is just part of being human, and being me, rather than some strange suffering. I’m not going to sweat it quite so much. I’m going to take a deep breath, channel the calmest, most relaxed version of me, and embrace my own Happy High Status.?

1. Which is the author’s true self in daily life?

A．A confident person.

B．A pessimistic person.

C．A shy person.

D．A sociable person.

2. What is the theme of the book Happy High Status?

A．The way to get confidence.	B．The importance of being brave.
C．The way to pursue a happy life.	D．The importance of changing jobs.

3. What can be known about people when they have high imposter syndrome?

A．They are in high spirits.	B．They believe in themselves.
C．They question people around.	D．They seem in difficult situations.

4. What is the suggestion from Groskop to deal with stress?

A．Trying to stay eased.	B．Avoiding physical reaction.
C．Expecting less of ourselves.	D．Listening to emotional stories.

3 . In recent decades, it has become clear that consumers’ decision-making process is influenced by their emotions. Traditionally, people have been asked how they feel about products and services, but since individuals are often unaware of their own emotions, their responses may not accurately reflect reality.

Consumer neuroscience investigations have helped create a deeper understanding of the role of emotions in consumer-related choices. Emotions can be broadly categorized as positive or negative; examples of positive emotions include love, pride, and happiness, while negative emotions include anger, disgust, and fear. Both types of emotions cause physiological responses.

Distinguishing between different types of emotions is more important than classifying them as positive or negative. When sad, consumers tend to be willing to pay more for goods and are drawn towards high-risk, high-reward options. For instance, an environmentalist shopping at a supermarket might focus on getting one item for free in a two-for-one offer rather than thinking they don’t need two identical products.

Anxiety can reduce the likelihood of making risky choices and make individuals careless about rewards, similar to the effect of some positive emotions. Negative moods like fear and anger also influence risk-related decision-making differently: anger leads to more optimistic assessments, while fear results in more pessimistic risk assessments. Stress is perhaps the most problematic emotion for consumers when it comes to risk-seeking. It’s common for consumers to rush into decisions between work or social activities, feeling pressured to make quick choices. This stress can increase risk-seeking behavior, leading to regrettable decisions.

Purchases often involve making predictions about how we may feel when we have bought something. For example, will buying a new hat make me feel good? Unfortunately, consumers are not good at predicting how they will feel in the future. This means that people often purchase something on the basis that they think it will make them happy. However, as it is common to overestimate the future emotions of happiness linked to products, consumers often feel disappointed with the item as it does not live up to their emotional expectations.

1. What probably causes consumers to make improper decisions?

A．Misjudgement of reality.	B．Unaware of emotions.
C．Slow reflection to service.	D．Preference for certain products.

2. Which emotion makes consumers more willing to pay a higher price despite the risks?

A．Love.

B．Pride.

C．Anxiety.

D．Sadness.

3. Which is a reasonable suggestion to consumers according to the text?

A．Consider only immediate rewards.

B．Avoid making decisions under pressure.

C．Focus on product quality when shopping.

D．Predict future emotions before making a purchase.

4. Why do consumers sometimes feel disappointed with their purchases?

A．They accurately predict their future emotions.

B．They underestimate the happiness linked to products.

C．They have very high requirements for products.

D．They don’t get the pleasure they expected of the products.

4 . The blind corners of Canadian Motorsports Park pushed Oscar Casasola to the limits as he sped around the racetrack, expertly driving behind the wheel of a flashy Porsche 718 Cayman GT4. Then he powered down his computer and prepared for his lessons.

“I first fell in love with cars and motorsports when I watched the movie Cars with Lightning McQueen as a young child”, the University of Maryland student said. “As I entered into my professional career, looking at my marketing and finance degrees, I started to think about how I could fit those professional aspects into the motorsports industry.”

That attraction to the action and excitement — combined with the high cost of becoming a race car driver — eventually led him to simulated racing (模拟赛车). But as Casasola researched to upgrade his gaming gear (装备), he noticed a gap in the product reviews, “What I came across was just outdated videos of people talking for, like, half an hour long, 50-year-old guys going on about some wheel.”

He started posting his videos on TikTok, with reviews and racing content full of humor and commentary. As the clips started racking up (积累) views, two major simulated racing companies, Thrustmaster and Next Level Racing, sent him gear to feature. Things “snowballed from there,” Casasola said, with his YouTube channel launching in 2020, companies emailing him weekly to review their products, and his audience steadily expanding.

Casasola’s experience in the Robert H. Smith School of Business, where he’s also working on his master’s degree in management, has helped him promote the channel’s growth. Besides classes, he served as president of marketing of the Student Association, working with a committee of five other students to maintain the organization’s social media, boost its follower counts and upgrade its logos and branding.

1. What excited Casasola’s interest in motorsports?

A．A trip to Canada.	B．A childhood movie.
C．A computer game.	D．A professional’s advice.

2. What did Casasola think of the gear review videos?

A．They were old-fashioned.

B．They appealed to the senior.

C．They gave wrong information.

D．They were too professional to understand.

3. The author mentions Casasola’s role in the Students Association to show ______.

A．Casasola’s contribution to the school

B．what Casasola’s interest has brought to him

C．relevant experiences matter to Casasola’s success

D．how other students help Casasola gain popularity

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Making Better Use of Video Platforms

B．Keeping Searching for Better Gaming Gear

C．From a Management Major to a Racing Driver

D．From Simulated Success to Real-world Opportunity

5 . When I was a child, the new year’s activity for my family is dumpling-making, but it’s been years since I’ve last experienced the uniquely carefree comfort and connection I felt during moments. My family has changed a lot, and gatherings like these simply don’t come together with the same ease as they once did.

This year, I came home in the evening to a dark house with pieces missing. I noticed things that I wouldn’t have before, like how my family slept earlier and got up later and how my dog had more trouble jumping up on my bed. After all, it’s easier to become blind to its subtle changes when you occupy it virtually every day of the year, and much harder when you must be exposed to months of accumulated change all at once.

Personally, the most precious childhood privilege is not the free extra snacks from flight attendants, but the privilege of thinking of the people and relationships around you with a sense of permanence. I mean this in the sense that it escaped my eight-year-old brain to think about how my parents were aging as I did or about the sacrifices they made for me until suddenly, I was an adult as they were.

I turn 20 in a couple months, so I’ve been seized with a feeling of adulthood, which feels far stronger than the transition into legal adulthood at 18 ever felt. It seems as if the “teen” part of“19”keeps me attached to the same category as the one my newly 13-year-old self occupied, carrying with it a certain comfort in the social allowances made for the immaturity inherent (固有的) to youth. But marching into 20 is different.

I’d so desperately wanted to move away and get a taste of independence upon starting college, but now I know that such freedom comes with loss and responsibility. Now I start to understand the governance of a circularity (循环) inherent to our lives and have a newfound appreciation for the things that remain the same.

1. What does the underlined word “subtle” in paragraph 2mean?

A．Obvious.

B．Sudden.

C．Unusual.

D．Unnoticeable.

2. Which of the following might the author agree with when he was eight?

A．Everything would be the same.	B．His parents were becoming old.
C．Free extra snacks were common.	D．His parents had done a lot to him.

3. In what way is 20 years old different according to the author?

A．Physical maturity.	B．The social expectation.
C．The loss of freedom.	D．The shift into legal adulthood.

4. What can be the best title of the passage?

A．A newfound appreciation for life.	B．The difference between teens and adults.
C．My passing memories of childhood.	D．My reflection on the switch into adulthood.

9 . The Last Generation is an activist group in Germany, the name implying that our unsustainability will push us to extinction. To force their government into action, some of the group went on a month-long hunger strike in August 2021. It wasn’t a half-hearted effort: several ended up in hospital.

But I’d like to take the opposite framing. I think we have the opportunity to be the first generation that leaves the environment in a better state.

There are two kinds of optimism: complacent optimism and conditional optimism. Complacent optimism is the feeling of a child waiting for presents. Conditional optimism is the feeling of a child who is thinking about building a tree house, “If I get some wood and nails and persuade some other kids to help do the work, we can end up with something really cool.” The group actually did take bold action, yet I want to address the climate crisis from a different angle.

Yes, my framing seems hard to believe. I’ll explain why. Here I’m using the term “generation” loosely. I am from a generation that will be defined by our environmental problems. I was a child when climate change really began. I will see countries move from being almost entirely dependent on fossil fuels to being free of them. I will be 57 when governments hit the “2050 deadline” of reaching net-zero carbon emissions that so many have promised.

But, of course, there will be several generations involved in this project. There are a couple above me and a couple below me. And we all need to work together to achieve that.

For a conditional optimist, criticism is essential. We need to work through ideas to find the most promising ones. Most innovators have been optimists. But they were also strongly critical: no one would pick apart the ideas of Thomas Edison or Marie Curie more than they did themselves.

Don’t look away from the climate crisis that faces us. Let’s face up to it, not from a place of “damage control” but with a clear vision of the future we can build: one that not only stops warming in its tracks but builds a better world for us, all of us, and the species hat we share the planet with.

1. Why is The Last Generation introduced?

A．To blame them for their action.	B．To remind Germany of its duties.
C．To discuss the author’s perspective.	D．To demand urgent action from everyone.

2. What is the core of complacent optimism?

A．Belief in kindness.	B．Passive expectation.
C．Brief satisfaction.	D．Love of presents.

3. What does the underlined phrase “pick apart” in paragraph 6 mean?

A．Turn to.

B．Identify with.

C．Find fault with.

D．Make an assessment of.

4. What does the author intend the readers to do?

A．Envision and engage.	B．Adapt and advance.
C．Inspire and Innovate.	D．Explore and expand.