1 . Global warming is not only bringing rising sea levels and extreme weather events but also causing a growing wave of climate anxiety around the world. An international study found nearly six in ten people were very worried about climate change, while the young appeared to be particularly badly influenced.     1     Here are some effective ways to help deal with your feelings.

    2     Not all information on the Internet is true, and you could be receiving misinformation. Even if you stick to trusted sources, too much information may only worsen your feelings. Try to set a time limit for checking climate related content to avoid making your anxiety worse.

It is important to be aware of your own limitations. You alone can’t stop or undo climate change, so you needn’t place the responsibility on yourself.     3     Joining a group of like-minded people to make a difference is a good way to get started and help you feel better.

Talk therapy (谈话疗法) provides you with a chance to discuss your anxiety about climate issues. A good therapist will address your negative emotions and thoughts about the environment in your conversations.     4    

Positive changes have taken place at personal, community, and worldwide levels. And there is no reason to believe that they won’t continue, especially with your help. You can discover means to influence others with your own positive attitude.     5     Take on whatever role you feel comfortable with and remember to focus on your mental health on whatever path you choose.

A．However, you can always find ways to contribute positively.

B．Staying in natural green spaces has been shown to reduce stress.

C．For example, organize related activities to educate people around you.

D．Reduce your time spent online, especially on sources that are not trustworthy.

E．The UN has made a list of blogs and other news resources about climate issues.

F．Such a professional will recognize your feelings and work with you to manage them.

G．So consider taking care of your mental well-being if you are struggling with the issue.

2 . Natural gas, long seen as a cleaner replacement to coal and an important tool in the fight to slow global warming, can be just as harmful to the climate, a new study has concluded, unless companies can cut the leaks (泄露), since it takes as little as 0.2 percent of gas to leak to make natural gas as big a driver of climate change as coal.

The study, which involved researchers from Harvard and Duke Universities and NASA, pokes holes in the idea that natural gas is suitable energy resources to a future powered entirely by renewables, like solar and wind. “Even if gas leaks little, it’s as bad as coal,” said Deborah, the lead researcher. “It can’t be considered a good bridge, or replacement.”

When power companies generate electricity by burning natural gas instead of coal, they produce only half the amount of planet-warming CO₂. But natural gas is made up mostly of me thane (甲烷), which is, in the short term, a far more powerful planet-warming gas than CO₂, when it escapes unburned into the atmosphere. And there’s increasing evidence that methane is leaking from gas systems in far larger quantities than previously thought.

There are other balances to consider. The CO₂ produced by coal-burning power plants lasts far longer in the atmosphere than methane, whose climate effects disappear after a few decades. So focusing on methane leaks from gas systems as a way to control carbon emissions (碳排放) means the world might reduce some short-term warming, but still face a dangerous rise in average temperatures many decades into the future. That said, with the consequences of climate change already spreading around the world, controlling methane would be a way that works faster to slow warming.

“I do hope the world pays attention to this, as I fear too many remain too concentrated on simply reducing coal use, even if it results in more gas consumption,” Deborah said. “What the world requires is to move to a 100 percent renewable energy future as soon as possible.”

1. How can natural gas contribute to global warming?

A．Its huge amount of CO₂ while burning.	B．Its taking in extra heat from the atmosphere.
C．Its leaking methane warming the planet.	D．Its combination with methane to produce CO₂.

2. What can be achieved by solving the problem of methane leaks?

A．Avoid the threats of climate change.	B．Cancel out the impacts of global warming.
C．Slow down warming more immediately.	D．Balance carbon emissions with coal burning.

3. What is Deborah’s concern about the future of energy sources?

A．Lack of attention to reducing gas use.	B．Unbalanced mix of coal and renewables.
C．Shortage of renewable energy sources.	D．Difficulty in promoting renewable energy.

4. Which of the following could be the best title for the text?

A．Is Natural Gas Better for the Climate?	B．How Can Carbon Emission be Controlled?
C．Is Natural Gas Taking the Place of Coal?	D．How Can Methane Speed up Global Warming?

3 . It was February 24, 2017, and my husband, David, and I were both at work. It was a day like any other. Our 15-year-old son, Justin, his sister and his friend Mike were playing with a ball in our backyard. Completely a common day!

What happened next was exactly a storm. Justin suddenly suffered cardiac arrest (心脏停搏) caused by a hit to the chest, and his heart just stopped. No pulse, no heartbeat. There are only about 10 to 20 cases a year. And it was almost always deadly until recently, when CPR (心肺复苏) has worked in up to one-third of cases.

Thankfully, the other children acted immediately instead of freezing in fear. Mike called 911 while my daughter called my husband. That second call proved vitally important, as my husband was able to get in touch with a neighbor who ran over and started CPR. And later, the doctors arrived and quickly shocked Justin’s heartbeat rhythm (节奏) back to normal.

Since then, I’ve found myself changed as a parent. There is more worry now. This unexpected incident has made me realize that anything can happen to my children. So, we’re doing what we can to be prepared. Earlier this year, Justin took part in a community education event with our fire department teaching Hands-Only CPR to the public. At least 100 participants showed up, and Justin shared his story to show why CPR is so important. At a local university where I work as a nurse lecturer, I’ve volunteered to join the CPR and AED first aid training for incoming freshmen.

David and I feel very fortunate to still have our son with us. If the kids hadn’t known to call 911, he wouldn’t be here. If our neighbor hadn’t known CPR, Justin wouldn’t be here. I think everyone should take the time to learn CPR. You could save a life — maybe the life of someone you love. Cardiac arrest often comes without warning. Everything will be normal right up until the point it isn’t. You have to know what to do.

1. Why does the author say the incident was a storm?

A．Her son played dangerous sports.	B．Her son had a close encounter with death.
C．Her children made a real mess when playing.	D．Her neighbor complained of the children's noise.

2. How did the author feel about the other children’s responses?

A．Curious.

B．Grateful.

C．Surprised.

D．Puzzled.

3. What did the author and Justin do after the incident?

A．They worked as medical workers.	B．They shared their stories on speaking tours.
C．They trained others in first aid skills.	D．They introduced first aid courses to schools.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly highlight?

A．The theory behind CPR.	B．The ways of ensuring child safety.
C．The causes of cardiac arrest.	D．The importance of learning first aid.

4 . A speech in a play by Shakespeare can be as short as a word or as long as several hundred. But what is the most common length?

Staying away from Shakespeare himself for a moment, we can take Ben Jonson’s play Volpone (1606) and count the number of speeches and their lengths. The most common length is four words. The next most common length is five words. Of the other 16 Jonson’s plays, 12 also have a speech length mode (模式) of four. It was not just Jonson; it was everybody. After 1602, four-word speeches were the most common kind across all the early modern plays that survived.

The London theatre industry took off in the late 1580s and early 1590s and we see a concentration of speech length modes of nine or ten. After 1602, the mode of four predominated. If we look just at Shakespeare’s plays, we find him doing what everyone else did: changing from favoring nine-word speeches to favouring four-word speeches around 1597-1602 and never going back.

Our suggestion is that the playwrights (剧作家) learned progressively from one another how to represent more closely the speech lengths of everyday exchanges and found that audiences responded well to these. They started to focus less on strict writing rules and more on the liveliness of everyday speech.

Another way to think of this is offered by the Russian literary scholar Boris Yarkho. He put forward an “index (指数) of liveliness” — the ratio of the number of speeches to the total number of lines in a play. He researched the works of the 17th-century French playwright Pierre Corneille and found that his comedies have a higher index because of their shorter speeches. The move from a mode of nine words to a mode of four represents the shortened average speech, and thus a move to livelier drama in Yarkho’s terms.

Nevertheless, we have no record of any dramatist or playgoer reflecting on the shortening of average speech lengths; our only knowledge of it comes from counting the words in the plays for ourselves.

1. What happened in English plays around the 1600s?

A．Their storylines were about famous writers.	B．They were influenced by a poetic writing style.
C．They featured different storytelling techniques.	D．Their speeches were generally shorter in length.

2. What does the underlined word “predominated” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Remained unique.	B．Took the leading position.
C．Disappeared slowly.	D．Played an educational role.

3. Why did playwrights change their writing styles according to paragraph 4?

A．To challenge traditional writing rules.	B．To stand out by applying their unique style.
C．To avoid being affected by social values.	D．To create realistic and acceptable speeches.

4. Which of the following is Yarkho’s opinion on the change in plays?

A．It saved actors the trouble of memorizing their lines.

B．It reflected people's preference for serious dialogues.

C．It helped present dramas in an active and pleasant way.

D．It made the characters express their feelings effectively.

5 . USITCC Regional Competition

The Department of Information Technology and Cyber Security in the College of Business is proud to host the U. S. Information Technology Collegiate Conference (USITCC) Regional Competition on October 26-28. The event is open to students majoring in business or computer science.

USITCC is quickly becoming the nation’s top IT competition, networking and career-building event. In one single weekend, student attendees can prove their technology skills in a variety of IT competitions, meet with industry professionals and connect with IT employers providing internships (实习工作) and/or full-time positions.

Competitions & Schedule

Date	Time	Competitions
Thursday, October 26	7-10 p.m.	Security
	7-10 p.m.	Systems Analysis and Design
Friday, October 27	8-1l a.m.	Application Development
	12-3 p.m.	Office Solutions
Saturday, October 28	4-7 p.m.	Database
	8-10 a.m.	Security Final Round

Accommodation Information

Kentwood Hall, 701 E. St. Louis St., Springfield, MO 65806 is a historic six-story building. Kentwood offers private rooms, two-person rooms, super doubles, and three-person rooms.

Each room is carpeted and offers a bathroom and height-adjustable beds. All rooms have Wi-Fi and a mid-sized refrigerator. All rooms are smoke-free. Basic bedding will include sheets, a light blanket, and towels.

Entry Fee

The early bird rate is $35/person before September 30, and the price will increase to $45/person after that date.

1. What can student competitors expect from the competitions?

A．A job opportunity.	B．Changes of college major.
C．A large cash prize.	D．Instructions from professors.

2. Which of the following do rooms of Kentwood Hall provide?

A．Smoking areas.	B．Personalized bedding.
C．Internet access.	D．Plus-sized refrigerator.

3. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To introduce a college.	B．To advertise a competition.
C．To recommend a hotel.	D．To promote cyber security.

6 . When Eugenie George first heard that her friend passed an exam, her heart sank. She’d failed that test weeks earlier, and needed more work to advance her own career. But instead of anxiety, she called her friend. “I congratulated her and told her she inspired me,” she says. She was surprised when it changed her attitude, so she could share her friend’s happiness and experience her own, in turn.

Finding pleasure in another person’s good fortune is what social scientists call freudenfreude, a term that describes the joy we feel when someone else succeeds, even if it isn’t directly connected with us. Freudenfreude is like social glue, says Catherine Chambliss, a professor of psychology at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. It makes relationships “closer and more enjoyable”. Sharing in someone else’s joy can also improve life satisfaction and resilience(适应力) and help people cooperate during a disagreement.

While the benefits of freudenfreude are plentiful, it doesn’t always come easily. Sometimes, your loss might last, making freudenfreude feel out of reach. If you were raised in a family that paired winning with self-worth, Chambliss says, you might misread someone else’s victory as your own personal shortcoming. And factors such as mental health and overall wellbeing(幸福) can also affect your ability to participate in someone else’s joy. Still, freudenfreude is worthwhile and there are ways to encourage the feeling.

Instead of an automatic response, freudenfreude is often an active process. To help people strengthen joy-sharing muscles, Chambliss and her colleagues developed a programme called FreudenfreudeEnhancement Training (FET). They found that depressed people who used the practices for two weeks had an easier time expressing freudenfreude, which built up their relationships and improved their mood.

Jean Grae, an artist, supports friends in this mindset. When someone gets a new opportunity or reaches a milestone, she makes sure to celebrate. Grae says she’s especially moved when anyone considered ‘other’ succeeds. “It’s truly inspirational,” she says, “because it lifts us all up and makes us shine.”

1. What do we know about Eugenie George?

A．She took pride in passing her exam.	B．She shared her success with her friend.
C．She was pleased with her friend’s success.	D．She was annoyed at her failure in an exam.

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly focus on about freudenfreude?

A．Its great benefits.	B．Its disadvantages.
C．Reasons for its absence.	D．Ways of improving it.

3. Why is Freudenfreude Enhancement Training (FET) held?

A．To test the effect of freudenfreude.	B．To help people apply freudenfreude.
C．To get people to know freudenfreude.	D．To show the advantages of freudenfreude.

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

A．How to experience freudenfreude?

B．Let’s share what leads to freudenfreude.

C．Freudenfreude: View others’ success as our own.

D．A win-win: Freudenfreude brings our own pleasure.

7 . How Can You Get Wiser?

Becoming wiser is a journey and not a destination. Here are some strategies that you can use to get wiser.

Try experiencing new opportunities

Experiencing new opportunities is how you gain wisdom. This is the only way you will gain wisdom and become better.     1     . Rather, you can try learning new skills that you never thought of learning. Change your routine and see where life takes you!

Open yourself to different perspectives

Always develop a sense of curiosity, and observe the world from different angles. It will always help you out. Never base your perspective(想法) on the most popular opinion or what is the most comfortable for you.     2     .

Meet new people

Limiting yourself to only one type of people that share the same ideology as you can be comforting but it doesn’t get you anywhere in life. You need to meet new people and learn what they have to offer.     3     , and this will make you wiser.

    4    

You must develop a thirst for knowledge. Take new classes, read books, and the list goes on and on. If something confuses you, surf the internet and clear out your problems. All of these activities will strengthen your critical-thinking skills.

Learn and grow from your mistakes

All of us make mistakes in life, but it is what makes us grow and do better next time. Whenever we make a mistake, we should learn from it. We can think about what made us fail, so that we may improve ourselves.     5     . Your best teacher will always be your last mistake.

A．Listen to your heart

B．Never back away from learning

C．Stop blaming others for your mistakes

D．This will open up new pathways for us

E．Share what defines you and learn from others

F．You will never grow from being in your comfort zone

G．Train your mind to be a judgment-free space for ideas

8 . The difficulty in learning a foreign language lies not only in its complexity (复杂) but also in its difference from your own. The first thing many learners will think of is the writing system. Chinese stands out for its difficulty. A learner is said to memorize at least 2,000 characters to be able to read a newspaper.

A second way languages can be hard is with sounds and differences that do not exist in the learner’s language. To an English-speaker, the novelty includes the clicks of many African languages and the ejective sounds made by a sudden release of pressure in the mouth in some Caucasian ones. But just as hard is the problem of languages that differ from your own.

The vocabulary obviously matters too. Most European languages share an ancestor (called proto-Indo-European) and so their words, too, often come in related pairs. If you know water in Spanish is agua, it is easy to figure out Italian acqua and English aquatic. But the European languages share vocabulary for another reason: they have freely borrowed from one another over the centuries. Not only will languages unrelated to the European ones lack the “genetic” similarities in vocabulary but also they, culturally distant, have far less borrowed European vocabulary too.

Finally there is grammar. Many people connect tricky grammar with long lists of endings that change according to a word’s use in a sentence. This exists all over Arabic such as prefixes, suffixes (后缀), or vowels (元音) and consonants, which accounts for the difficulty of the language. Foreign grammar is also difficult to the extent that it differs from your language.

If you want to learn a language just for fun, start with Swedish. If you want to learn more, stay in Europe. But if you really want to impress, mastering Cantonese or Korean is the sign of the true linguistic (语言的) Ironman.

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

A．Culture.

B．Civilization.

C．Uniqueness.

D．Unfamiliarity.

2. Why are Spanish, Italian and English mentioned in paragraph 3?

A．To tell their differences.	B．To compare the languages.
C．To prove their shared connections.	D．To show difficulty in learning them.

3. Which may probably be the most difficult language?

A．Arabic.

B．English.

C．Swedish.

D．Korean.

4. The passage mainly talks about _________of a foreign language.

A．learning strategies	B．learning difficulties
C．learning contents	D．learning processes

9 . More than just shelter for weary travellers, these lodges (乡间小屋) double as a base for adventurers to explore the surrounding wilderness.

Puketui Forest Escape

Best for: Couples world

Enveloped in podocarp forest, Puketui feels a world away despite being a short drive from Taupō. Solar power keeps the lights on, water is sourced from a spring, heating is fed by a cosy, freestanding fireplace. Explore the forest via walking tracks, then walk to the house to stargaze. From NZ$399 (£208)a night B&B.

Awaroa Lodge

Best for: Wifi-free

Without wifi and phone or TV signal, you’ll have little to distract you at Awaroa Lodge. Available only by hiking or water taxi, the lodge produces its own power and grows organic food for the restaurant. It also protects the national park’s wetlands for the return of white herons (苍鹭) in 2020 after years of absence. From NZ$206(£108) a night.

Lake Moeraki Wilderness Lodge

Best for: Wildlife spotting

Wilderness Lodge at Lake Moeraki is surrounded by coastal rainforest and guests can join lessons in kayaking, star-gaze and feed giant eels with recycled waste. The members at the lodge protect unique Tawaki penguins and run guide d penguin-watching tours from July to December. From NZ$450(£235), includes breakfast, dinner, and twice-daily guided activities.

Timber Trail lodge

Best for: Fresh forest air

Timber Trail Lodge, is fantastic for weary cyclists and hikers, with cosy lounges (休息室) flooded with natural light during the day and then lit by the glow of the fireplace by night. Nearly all power is solar, rainwater is harvested and profits are spent on trail conservation. From NZ$390 (£205) a night, with all meals.

1. How much will you pay for one-week stay in Awaroa Lodge?

A．£756.

B．£1442.

C．£1456.

D．£1435.

2. Which place is suitable for an animal-lover?

A．Puketui Forest Escape.	B．Awaroa Lodge.
C．Lake Moeraki Wilderness Lodge.	D．Timber Trail lodge.

3. What do they have in common?

A．Water sports.	B．Organic food available.
C．Convenient transportation.	D．Green lifestyle.