1 . Jokes and humor are often thought of as unimportant. If the lawyer defending you in court couldn’t stop joking, you’d be understandably alarmed.
However, regarding humour as insignificant is a mistake. Humour, jokes and laughter, have a vital role to play in human behaviour and interaction. They are a powerful part of social bonding and are genuinely beneficial for health via their stress-relieving properties.
Why do we respond, in such powerful and rewarding ways, to things that objectively make little sense? A substantial amount of data has been generated regarding how humour works in the brain and on the various types of recognisable jokes that trigger it.
Verbal puns, the most familiar type of joke, involve words that convey two meanings at once. For example, “Why did the golfer wear two pairs of trousers? In case he got a hole in one.” Here “hole in one” has two possible interpretations. Their simplicity and familiarity mean most people recognise the humour in puns. So, the brain’s humour processes are still engaged.
But where does humour arise from in the brain? Considerable research points towards a specific system in the brain for recognizing humour. This system seemingly detects and resolves incongruity (不和谐). Our brains know how things, like language and behaviors, should work. But, in the real world, many things don’t match our expectations. It seems our brains have evolved a system to recognise when this happens.
If normality is subverted, it means we don’t know what’s going to happen, which creates cognitive (认知) tension. However, the system that recognises incongruity seemingly also resolves it, by providing an explanation, or at least a confirmation that the incongruity has no negative consequences. This removes the uncertainty, relieving the tension. So, we experience a rewarding feeling. If the incongruity is not resolved, however, humour is absent. If the answer to “Why did the golfer wear two pairs of trousers?” is “in case the metal owl that lives in his gold bag attacks him”, that’s not funny. There’s unresolved incongruity.
Humour is essentially our brain going, “This isn’t how things usually work... but I’m okay with it!”
1. What does the author say about humor in the first two paragraphs?| A．Its positive role is often underrated. | B．It mainly serves to entertain and amuse. |
| C．Its harmful effects shouldn’t be ignored. | D．It is essential for professional communication. |
| A．To prove a theory. | B．To draw a conclusion. |
| C．To illustrate a concept. | D．To make a comparison. |
| A．Detected. | B．Overturned. | C．Established. | D．Repeated. |
| A．How Jokes Affect Brain Structures | B．Using Humor to Boost Brain Power |
| C．Jokes and the Brain’s Reward System | D．Unlocking Brain Secrets Behind Humor |
2 . A new study reveals that pigeons (鸽子) can tackle some problems just like artificial intelligence, enabling them to solve difficult tasks that might challenge humans. Previous research has theorized that pigeons employ a problem-solving strategy, involving a trial-and- error approach, which is similar to the approach used in AI models but differs from humans’ reliance on selective attention and rule use. To examine it, Brandon Turner, a psychology professor at the Ohio State University, and his colleagues conducted the new study.
In the study, the pigeons were presented with various visual images, including lines of different widths and angles, and different types of rings. The pigeons had to peck (啄) a button on the right or left to indicate the category to which the image belonged. If they got it correct, they received food; if they were wrong, they received nothing. Results showed that, through trial and error, the pigeons improved their accuracy in categorization tasks, increasing their correct choices from about 55% to 95%.
Researchers believed pigeons used associative learning, which is linking two phenomena with each other. For example, it is easy to understand the link. between “water” and “wet”. “Associative learning is frequently assumed to be far too primitive to. explain complex visual categorization like what we saw the pigeons do,” Turner said. But that’s exactly what the researchers found.
The researchers’ AI model tackled the same tasks using just the two simple mechanisms that pigeons were assumed to use: associative learning and error correction. And, like the pigeons, the AI model learned to make the right predictions to significantly increase the number of correct answers. For humans, the challenge when given tasks like those given to pigeons is that they would try to come up with rules that could make the task easier. But in this case, there were no rules, which upsets humans.
What’s interesting, though, is that pigeons use this method of learning that is very similar to AI designed by humans, Turner said. “We celebrate how smart we are that we designed artificial intelligence: at the same time, we regard pigeons as not clever animals,” he said.
1. What is the purpose of the new study?| A．To test a theory. | B．To evaluate a model. |
| C．To employ a strategy. | D．To involve an approach. |
| A．Draw circles. | B．Correct errors. | C．Copy gestures. | D．Identify images. |
| A．They are of equal intelligence. |
| B．They are good at making rules. |
| C．They respond rapidly to orders from humans. |
| D．They employ simple ways to get things done. |
| A．Pigeons’ trial-and-error method is revealed |
| B．Pigeons outperform humans in tough tasks |
| C．“Not smart” pigeons may be as smart as AI |
| D．AI models after pigeons’ learning approach |
3 . Discovering Your True Self Is Vital to Happiness!
Have you found focusing on yourself is at the bottom of the to-do list, because you feel everyone else in your life comes first?
This isn’t just about identifying your favorite outfit, haircut or flavor of ice cream.
There are many tools to help you develop a deeper sense of yourself, including journaling and other forms of creative expression. You can use a guided journal to explore your thoughts and feelings or just free write whatever comes to mind. It’s up to you what you want to do.
An often overlooked yet very important factor in self-discovery is having healthy boundaries in your personal life.
| A．It’s one thing to know your personality type. |
| B．It’s a great way to show that you care about others. |
| C．Taking time for ourselves has been looked down upon. |
| D．Another way is to observe your behavior in different situations. |
| E．It allows you to focus on the needs of yourself without ignoring others. |
| F．But try not to get caught up in the criticism or judgment of your writing. |
| G．It’s about understanding your inner world and how you fit into the outer world. |
4 . Here are some of the best shopping malls in the world.
Mall of America (Minnesota, the United States)
It isn’t just a shopping center; it’s a destination. There are more than 520 stores,50 restaurants, more than 30 specialty (特产) food stores, 14 movie screens, a park, an aquarium, and other unique attractions like the LEGO Imagination Center. The mall is so large that it has its own Visitor’s Guide.
West Edmonton Mall (Alberta, Canada)
The mall describes itself as “the greatest indoor show on earth”. With over 800 stores, over 100 restaurants, an amusement park with roller coasters, a water park, a skating court, themed attractions, and hotels, you can spend your entire vacation within its walls. Shoppers at the West Edmonton Mall can enjoy everything from educational displays to dance parties.
Ala Moana (Hawaii, the United States)
Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, the mall owns a variety of unique features. It is the largest open-air mall. Swinging palm trees (棕桐树) and beautiful Hawaiian sun add to the atmosphere. Creating a Hawaiian experience seems to be part of its appeal because it offers a variety of events including daily classes, Hula shows, live Hawaiian music, and more. While you’re there, also make sure to check out the Art Walk — a multi-million dollar collection of art.
Galleria Vittorio Emmanuel(Milan, Italy)
If antique (古老的) and period art is your thing, the Galleria Vitoria Emmanuele is a not-to-be-missed stop on your journey. Topped with glass round roofs, this masterpiece in architecture has interesting and significant history. Thought as one of the world’s best shopping destinations, it is definitely known mostly for its ancient and splendid architecture, brand name stores, and historical significance.
1. What do Mall of America and West Edmonton Mall have in common?| A．They are both indoor shopping centers. | B．They both own a number of restaurants. |
| C．They both have their own Visitor’s Guide. | D．They are both located in the United States. |
| A．A collection of modern art. | B．A variety of special cuisines. |
| C．Large amounts of sunshine. | D．Lots of different music styles. |
| A．Its unique location. | B．Its warm weather. |
| C．Its historic buildings. | D．Its attractive scenery. |
5 . Can you imagine what you wear can reveal a story about you?
Recent research shows that you can tell a lot about someone’s personality, politics, status, age and income just from looking at a photo of their shoes or clothes. Did you ever notice that when former US president Barack Obama addressed a crowd of working class Americans, he would speak with no jacket and his sleeves rolled up? That silently and instantly communicated to the audience that he too was a hard worker.
When you’re dressing or grooming, consider what it says about you and whether it’s in line with the message you want to communicate. There’s no right or wrong. It’s all about context (情景). A tie can make you look reliable and rooted in tradition. This might be important at an investment firm, where clients want to know that you’re serious about managing their capital, a formal party like meeting the elders or even a wedding ceremony. But it can also come off as stuffy (刻板的) and resistant to change, which may be inappropriate for a newly-built tech company.
Of course, dressing smart is also important for your confidence and sense of self-empowerment. But your style does more than just send messages, to your mind or to others. New research shows it actually impacts how you think. Professional dress, one study found, increases abstract thinking and gives people a broader perspective. So that tie might actually be switching on your creativity button. “The formality (正式) of clothing might not only influence the way others perceive a person, and how people perceive themselves, but also could influence decision making in important ways through its influence on processing style,” the study says. Professional clothes create social distance. When we are more socially distant, we tend to think in more distant, abstract terms.
Taking intentional command of how you dress and present is a good step in empowering yourself, accomplishing your goals, and living a more lucid life at the helm of your decisions. So pay attention!
1. What may we know by looking at a photo of a person’s clothes?| A．Whether he has been married. | B．Whether he is outgoing or shy. |
| C．Whether he likes playing volleyball. | D．Whether he is working at an international company. |
| A．delivered a speech | B．wrote a letter to | C．dealt with | D．conveyed support to |
| A．want to take part in a wedding party |
| B．want to look dependable to your clients |
| C．want to apply for a job in a new technology company |
| D．want to meet your fiancée’s (未婚妻的) parents for the first time |
| A．Smart dress can build up your confidence. |
| B．Your dressing style will affect how you think. |
| C．What you wear will send messages to you and others. |
| D．Professional dress will make people more socially distant. |
6 . Tony Gemignani started rolling pizza dough (面团) when he was 17. “I loved it and customers loved it,” said Gemignani.
More than three decades later, Gemignani, now 49, is a famous pizza acrobat(杂技演员)with 13 world titles. He has also won several Guinness World Records.
Pizza acrobatics (杂技) has been around since the 1980s. The sport is throwing stretched pizza dough in the air and using it to perform exciting tricks. Seeming to have no gravity (引力), the do ugh is thrown straight into the air in perfect round plate.
It might seem like an unusual hobby, but throwing pizzas is no joke. Like other com-petitive sports, it requires focus, physical strength, and—perhaps most importantly—practice. Lots of practice.
“It’s difficult. You need to move quickly and easily,” said Gemignani, who initially practiced turning pizzas with wet towels, which he cut and attached together to form a 16-inch circle. “It takes a bit of perseverance (毅力).”
Also, he added, pizza dough can be easily broken. For example, warm weather makes dough softer, which is easier to tear in midair. “It’s flexible, it can tear, and it changes shape,” Gemignani said. However, the challenge is part of what attracts Gemignani to the sport.
Although Gemignani has performed thousands of times, “I still get nervous,” he said. In addition to competition, he has traveled from London to Thailand—throwing pizzas at cancer camps, local festivals, sports games, talk shows, and other gatherings large and small. He especially loves performing for children. “It’s so rewarding,” said Gemignani, who has an 8-year-old son.
“I could never get tired of pizza,” said Gemignani. “Pizza always takes you back to a time when things in life were much simpler,” he said. “No stress. It’s all about eating good food and having a good time.”
1. What makes pizza acrobatics challenging?| A．It needs skills and carefulness. | B．It performs exciting tricks. |
| C．It goes against gravity in reality. | D．It has been around for a long time. |
| A．He could live a care-free life. |
| B．He hated stressful life of competitions. |
| C．He felt less nervous because he was good at pizza acrobatics. |
| D．He could entertain people and enrich himself through pizza acrobatics. |
| A．Considerate and talented. | B．Determined and funny. |
| C．Hard-working and devoted. | D．Brave and flexible. |
| A．Great Time of Gemignani | B．The Kindness of Gemignani |
| C．An Exciting Sport—Pizza Acrobatics | D．Pizza Acrobatics Makes a Full Man |
7 . In South Korea, students should pay for everything they learn in classes from K-pop auditions to real estate deals. Now, top Korean firms are introducing artificial intelligence in hiring and job seekers want to learn how to defeat the robots to get a job.
Many major South Korean companies like SK Innovation and Hyundai use AI in hiring, which generates classes for AI hiring booming fast. Career advisor Park Seong-jung is now offering a three-hour training course in handling recruitment, screening by computers, not people.
Preparing for such tests doesn’t necessarily involve simply memorizing answers. “Don’t force a smile with your lips,” Park Seong-jung told students looking for work in a recent session, one of many in which he said he has conducted for hundreds of people. “Smile with your eyes.”
One AI video system reviewed by Reuters asks candidates to introduce themselves, during which it spots and counts facial expressions including “fear” and “joy” and analyses word choices. It then asks questions that can be tough: “You are on a business trip with your boss and you spot him using the company credit card to buy himself a gift. What will you say?”
Kim Seok-wu, a 22-year-old senior at a top university, recently failed to get beyond an AI interview for a management position at a retail company. “I think I will feel hopeless if all companies go AI for hiring,” Kim said. “The AI interview is too new, so job hunters don’t know what to prepare for and any preparations seem meaningless since AI will read our faces if we make something up.”
1. Why do students in South Korea pay to study courses like AI hiring?| A．They want to be more competitive when faced with AI interview. |
| B．Big companies are in favor of it and want them to beat the androids. |
| C．They want to learn some AI knowledge and learn how to smile before AI. |
| D．AI can analyze their facial expressions and help to prepare for the interviews. |
| A．By making a self introduction and answering some questions. |
| B．By asking interviewees how to deal with the boss’s asking for a gift. |
| C．By looking at what words the interviewees use when answering difficult questions. |
| D．By demanding an introduction, observing facial expressions and asking challenging questions. |
| A．Supportive. | B．Disapproving. | C．Uncaring. | D．Contradictory. |
| A．A news report. | B．A job interview. |
| C．Scientific paper. | D．A job-seeking lecture. |
8 . Have you ever tried a cactus (仙人掌) pear? Yes, its prickly surface makes it an unusual-looking fruit but it is widely used in Mexican dishes. This fruit from the cactus is really good for you because it is helpful in fighting against many diseases, and has many health benefits (利益). There are actually over 200 types of cactus fruit and they grow in hot dry places.
Since the world is getting hotter and drier, it is even more difficult for hot dry places to grow major crops (庄稼) that need more water. Therefore, providing food and fuel will go a long way in a world that is heating up. Researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno, set out to see if the cactus pear could become a superfood that could feed people and animals, remove carbon (碳) from the atmosphere and be used as a biofuel.
While the study looked at many types of cactuses, they settled on the nopal cactus or Opuntia. The fruit can be gathered as food and the rest of the cactus can be used for taking in carbon and can be used as biofuels according to biology professor Cushman. The plant keeps water by closing its pores (气孔) during the hottest part of the day to limit water loss and opens them at night. Cushman hopes to use the genes from this plant to add them to other plants.
They are also studying the Opuntia stunting disease, which causes cactuses to grow smaller plants and less fruits, in order to find out how it spreads. They hope to learn how to create tools to recognize and treat it so that they can help Opuntia become a prolific crop.
In a world that is also gaining population, finding a new superfood will go a long way in feeding a planet that will need 50-90 percent more food in 2050. Eating more plant-based foods will also reduce the amount of land needed for more food protection.
1. What can we know about the cactus pear?| A．It is of great benefit to people. |
| B．It is the main food for Mexicans. |
| C．It can’t be seen outside Mexico. |
| D．It grows in hot wet places. |
| A．It is easy to be gathered. |
| B．It has fewer pores 10 save water. |
| C．It is suitable for various conditions. |
| D．It is eatable and good for the environment. |
| A．Helpful. | B．Unusual. | C．Attractive. | D．Fruitful. |
| A．Getting away from increasingly higher temperatures |
| B．Cactus pears may become the new superfood crop |
| C．A cactus is the plant living well in dry areas |
| D．Providing plant-based food for the world |
9 . Meyer Mixdorf, 5, was a patient at the children’s hospital in Missouri back in May. There he made his first mystery friend, Johnna Schindlbeck, a medical worker who works across the street.
Meyer’s mother, Liz Mixdorf, said that Meyer got brain cancer (癌症) in December 2020 and was taken to the children’s hospital to receive treatment. Five months into his treatment Liz and her husband decided to arrange sticky notes (便利贴) in the shape of a smiley face on Meyer’s window to cheer him up. They never knew that they would receive a wink face in response (回应) to their artwork a day later.
“It was a really funny and exciting activity that Meyer looked forward to,” Liz said. On Johnna’s side, she had no idea who she was communicating with. She thought that was just fun in the very beginning. Johnna realized her post-it friend was a patient after she saw a hospital sign on the window.
Meyer and his parents worked through other characters, including Iron Man, Batman, the Minions and more. Each creative design they put on would get responses. The Mixdorf family and Johnna Schindlbeck spent several weeks sending sticky note art to each other from their windows in May and July.
On July 13, Meyer was leaving the hospital. He even got a chance to meet Johnna who made his days brighter. “I knew it was him as soon as I saw him and just started crying,” Johnna talked about Meyer’s visit. “I think Liz and I just both had tears.”
Johnna once lost two older brothers to cancer. “That was kind of a personal connection for me. I really feel for him and his family because I know what it feels like to have to walk away at the end of the day and you’re just depending on the hospital staff’s care. Kindness does go a long way,” she shared. “And I’m learning to be thankful for the little things.”
1. What’s Meyer’s parents’ purpose of putting up sticky notes?| A．To decorate the room. | B．To make Meyer happy. |
| C．To get a wink face back. | D．To teach him make sticky note. |
| A．Johnna was curious about Meyer in the beginning. |
| B．Johnna wanted to encourage Meyer to be positive. |
| C．Johnna thought giving responses was interesting at first. |
| D．Johnna liked communicating with others in a new way. |
| A．She got the friendship she wanted. |
| B．She was happy for Meyer’s visit. |
| C．She felt sorry for Meyer ‘s illness. |
| D．She thought of her own experience. |
| A．A kind heart really makes a difference. |
| B．Love makes family members come together. |
| C．People should be thankful for others kindness. |
| D．The doctor-patient relations are easy to deal with. |
10 . It was hard not to notice the 8-year-old boy Brooke across the street who stormed in and out of his own house. He did it so often that a neighbor, Chris, wondered what was going on in his life. So Chris asked him.
“He told me that he didn’t have a father,” says Chris, now 58, “and I realized there might be something I could do for him.”
That something was fishing, and Chris’s father taught him how to fish. “Fishing always brought me peace and it taught me how to be patient. When you’re on the water, you can forget about your problems and just appreciate the moment,” Chris said.
One Saturday afternoon on the water led to another, and soon he was teaching other kids in their neighborhood, Lakeland, Florida, how to fix a line, hold a pole, and roll in a big catch. That was 16 years ago.
Since then, Chris has taken groups of kids out almost every weekend to fish. Then, in 2018 he started the nonprofit Take a Kid Fishing Inc. He and a small group of volunteers have introduced more than 2, 500 kids — most without fathers around — to the calming peace found on the water and the excitement of catching a fish.
One of those kids was Jayden, who struggled emotionally when his father died in a car accident in January 2020.
“He was really close to his dad,” says Jayden’s mother, Terra. “And with two younger sisters, he felt he needed to take over the man-of-the-house role. He was trying to be strong for everyone and didn’t show his emotion. I was wondering what to do to help him, and then I learned about Take a Kid Fishing Inc.”
Jayden, now 13, has become a devoted fisherman and credits Chris with helping him mature.
“There’s nothing like feeling that first tug (猛拉) on the line and seeing a kid light up with a smile,” Chris says. “I feel lucky to witness that every weekend.”
1. What can we learn about Brooke from the first paragraph?| A．He tended to be restless. | B．He had an ambitious mind. |
| C．He longed to have a father. | D．He was interested in fishing. |
| A．Because he enjoyed the company of children. |
| B．Because he had to raise some volunteers to help kids. |
| C．Because he wanted to light up fatherless children’s life. |
| D．Because he considered teaching children to catch fish fun. |
| A．To present the benefits of Chris’s act. |
| B．To show Jayden’s mother’s appreciation. |
| C．To promote the popularity of fishing together. |
| D．To make readers donate money to Chris’s organization. |
| A．Fishing can strengthen family connections. |
| B．Fathers play an important role in kids’ life. |
| C．Family kids are the future of a strong nation. |
| D．Proper and timely guidance makes a mature kid. |
