1 . Not Waving but Drowning
Stevie Smith (1902-1971)
Nobody heard him, the dead man, but still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought, and not waving but drowning.
Poor chap, he always loved larking, and now he's dead.
It must have been too cold for him, his heart gave away, they said.
Oh, no no no, it was too cold always （Still the dead one lay moaning）.
I was much too far out all my life, and not waving but drowning.
‘Not Waving But Drowning’ by Stevie Smith describes the emotional situation of a speaker whose true sufferings go unnoticed by all those around her. The poem begins with the speaker stating that there is a dead man who is not really dead. He is not dead because his story has more to offer to the world. His death came at the hands of apathy (冷漠). The speaker knows this to be true as she is struggling out in the ocean waters. She’s trying desperately to get someone’s attention but all the onlookers believe her to be “waving” rather than “drowning”. Then the speaker criticizes the emotionless reaction of the beach-goers by describing their words regarding the dead man. They see him, attempt to recall something about his life, and then declare him dead without ceremony They believe that it must have been “too cold” for him and that his heart gave out. The speaker continues to say that it has always been “too cold” for her. She has always been too far out to the sea to make people understand her, especially now when she needs understanding the most.
On the surface the poem is about a man who drowns because his movements are mistaken for friendly waving. Taken less literally, however, it speaks to the pain of being misunderstood and the frequent failure of communication between human beings, closely related to which is its potential suggestion of mental illness. That is, the poem can be taken as an extended metaphor (暗喻) for the specific pain of diseases like depression, which makes the man feel like “drowning” yet unable to effectively ask for help. It’s worth noting here that Smith herself struggled with depression for much of her life, and her own experience likely informed the poem. The man’s mistaken gestures, in this reading, indicate the divide between appearance and reality, between how people dealing with such illness are feeling inside and how the world sees them or how they present themselves to the world.
1. What’s the first paragraph mainly about?| A．An introduction of the poet. | B．The explanation of the poem’s content. |
| C．The appreciation of the poem's images. | D．An analysis of the poem's creation background. |
| A．Casually. | B．Definitely. | C．Formally. | D．Violently. |
| A．His inner desire for death. | B．His misleading gestures for help. |
| C．His being drowned for so long a time. | D．His failed communication with people around. |
| A．People usually believe what they see. |
| B．People can't turn a blind eye to whoever is in trouble. |
| C．People should re late to what those in need truly need. |
| D．People with mental illnesses must help themselves out. |
Food takeaway rider who finds respite from his daily work stress in writing poetry publishes his second collection in as many years, Chen Nan reports.
In 2019, Wang Jibing, a food delivery rider living and working in Kunshan, East China’s Jiangsu province, had an unpleasant experience due to the wrong address left by a customer. Wang searched three buildings and climbed 18 floors before he finally managed to deliver the food to the customer, who rudely scolded Wang for arriving late.
Wang was sad and frustrated. As a husband and father of three children, who shoulders the majority of the financial responsibility in his family, he had to swallow the insult.
“If I argued with him, he would give me negative feedback and the company would have imposed a fine on me. I had no choice but to apologize repeatedly,” recalls Wang, 54, who makes about 6,000 yuan ($823) a month by delivering food.
On his way home that day, Wang wrote a poem, Man in a Hurry, expressing his feelings.
“Wind is born from air in a hurry. A knife is forged from the wind in hurry… Man in a hurry has no four seasons. He only has one stop after another. His world is about the name of a place,” he wrote.
Since then, Wang has been writing poems inspired by his daily life, including a poem New Temple, which was conceived after he delivered food to construction workers repairing an old temple, and Forgive, based on his observation of a young couple fighting.
1. respite from his daily work stress2. shoulders the majority of the financial responsibility
3. swallow the insult
4. imposed a fine on
5. What does writing poetry mean to Wang Jibing?
6. What do you think Wang Jibing is like?
3 . Boredom has, surprisingly, become quite interesting to academics lately. In early May, London’s Boring Conference celebrated seven years of delighting in dullness. At this event, people flocked to talks about weather traffic jams, and vending-machine sounds, among other sleep-inducing topics.
What, exactly, is everyone studying? One widely accepted psychological definition of boredom is “the unpleasant experience of wanting, but being unable, to engage in satisfying activities.” But how can you measure a person’s boredom level and compare it with someone else’s?
In 1986, psychologists introduced the Boredom Proneness Scale, designed to measure an individual’s overall tendency to feel bored. By contrast, the Multidimensional State Boredom scale, developed in 2008, measures a person’s feelings of boredom in a given situation.
Boredom has been linked to behavior issues including inattentive driving mindless snacking excessive drinking, and addictive gambling. In fact, many of us would choose pain over boredom.
One team of psychologists discovered that two-thirds of men and a quarter of women would rather have electric shocks than sit alone with their thought for 15 minutes. Researching this phenomenon, another team asked volunteers to watch boring, sad, or neutral films, during which they could have electric shocks. The bored volunteers shocked themselves more and harder than the sad or neutral one did.
But boredom isn’t all bad. By encouraging self-reflection and daydreaming, it can encourage activity. An early study gave participants abundant time to complete problem-solving and word-association exercises. Once all the obvious answers were exhausted, participants gave more and more inventive answers to fight boredom. A British study took these findings one step further, asking subjects to complete a creative challenge (coming up with a list of alternative uses for a household item). One group of subjects did a boring activity first, while the others went straight to the creative task. Those whose boredom pumps had been prepared were more productive.
In our always-connected world, boredom may be a hard-to-define state, but it is a fertile one. Watch paint dry or water boil, or at least put away your smartphone for a while, and you might unlock your next big idea.
1. When are people likely to experience boredom, according to an accepted psychological definition?| A．When they can’t do what they want. |
| B．When they experience unpleasant things. |
| C．When they are engaged in some routines. |
| D．When they don’t enjoy what they are studying. |
| A．Great determination. | B．Mental health. |
| C．Huge pain. | D．Harmful conduct. |
| A．Volunteers prefer watching a boring movie to sitting alone deliberating. |
| B．Many volunteers are unable to resist boredom longer than fifteen minutes. |
| C．Male volunteers are more immune to the effects of boredom than females. |
| D．Mary volunteers choose to hurt themselves rather than endure boredom. |
| A．Unlock one’s smartphone. | B．Stop worrying and think big. |
| C．Spare some time to be bored. | D．Look around oneself for inspiration |
4 . Farmers and hunters are calling for an extension (延期) to the Victorian duck hunting season, saying certain species are doing great harm to crops and waterways and need to be controlled. This season runs from 8:00 am today and will end in 20 days, down from the usual 12 weeks, with a bag limit of five listed game ducks per day.
Wayne Shields grows leafy greens on the Mornington Peninsula and he said the decision to reduce the duck hunting season would take its toll on farmers. “The wood ducks are the ones causing all of the damage; the black ducks are no problem around here. The wood ducks come in at night and they just clean me out completely and they’ve done it a number of times over a number of years,” he said.
Mr. Shields and his wife, Natasha, run Peninsula Fresh Organics and he said there was nothing he could do to stop the invasion (入侵). “I nearly went broke a few years ago. Back then I was planting 10,000 lettuce (生菜) a week and they would quite happily eat 10,000 lettuce a week.” Due to the damage caused by the wood ducks, Mr. Shields said there should be a year-round open season on the wood ducks and farmers should be allowed to shoot birds.
Professor Richard Kingsford, Director of the Centre for Ecosystem Science at UNSW, said although the wood ducks ate crops, extending the duck season may not achieve what farmers wanted. He is calling on the government to invest more in research to address the threat certain species of waterbirds caused for some farmers, so other nonlethal (非致命的) ways to destroy the birds can be found.
1. How is this year’s duck hunting season different?| A．It is put off. | B．It is cut short. |
| C．It is about five species. | D．It takes place mainly on farms. |
| A．Make way for. | B．Keep an eye on. |
| C．Cause damage to. | D．Take control of. |
| A．The invasion of the black ducks. |
| B．The difficulty of keeping business. |
| C．The negative influence of the hunting season. |
| D．The daytime trouble caused by the wood ducks. |
| A．Scientifically managing them. |
| B．Encouraging hunters to catch them. |
| C．Extending the duck hunting season. |
| D．Using deadly ways to drive them away. |
5 . The Oxford dictionary defines the word “success” as “an accomplishment of an aim” and “attaining fame, social status (地位) or wealth”. Is this how we measure success in life? If you are rich, you’ll have people say “you have everything” or “you’re already successful in life” or a similar statement that means you have money and are well settled. There are many people who feel this way, while there are many who feel that success is not just having a lot of money.
The thing is, your concept of success is connected to your beliefs and values, and if your values tell you that success in life means money, then there is nothing that will change your mind. On the other hand, if your value system says that having money, stability, peace, happiness and contentment in your life are equally important, then you have an entirely different idea of success in life. There are a lot of people in this world that are wealthy. However, they are unhappy. There are a lot of people who do not make a lot of money, but are happy with what they have.
There are different kinds of people in the world, and each one has a different view on what being successful really is about. Here are a few common opinions about success.
●Success in life means having money.
●Success in life means winning games or competitions.
●Success in life means achieving your goal.
●Success in life means getting the job you wanted.
●Success in life means owning a nice house, a good car and having all the costly comforts life has to offer.
●Success in life means being famous.
●Success in life means having influence, power and control.
●Success in life means being free from insecurities, fears and wants.
The one thing that is common to the statements above is that they include accomplishment, attainment and fulfillment (履行). Another thing is that it’s something you yearn for or that gives you an unspoken advantage over others.
1. Why is the definition of success in the Oxford dictionary mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．To make practical suggestions. |
| B．To lead in the topic for discussion. |
| C．To clarify the exact meaning of success. |
| D．To compare different ideas about success. |
| A．One’s value system matters a lot. |
| B．One should be grateful for what he has. |
| C．Success determines one’s beliefs and values. |
| D．Happy people are more likely to obtain success. |
| A．Choose. | B．Lack. | C．Desire. | D．Achieve. |
| A．What is the concept of success? |
| B．How can success be achieved in life? |
| C．Can success really bring money in life? |
| D．Does success in life mean having money? |
6 . Electronic timing is older than most people imagine and was used for the first time more than a hundred years ago at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Initially, the well-known company Ericsson was tasked with developing the technology, but it was the Swedish inventor Ragnar Carlstedt who eventually created the final product.
At the same time, Carlstedt introduced another invention: the finish line camera. The 1, 500-meter Olympic final was extremely close with Arnold Jackson from Great Britain winning by only 0.1 seconds. But it was impossible to decide on the silver medal since the two Americans Abel Kiviat and Norman Taber finished side by side. For the first time in history, the outcome of an Olympic event had to be settled based on a photo finish when Kiviat was judged to be “slightly ahead”.
The significance of these two inventions led a major newspaper to write: “Electronic timing at the Olympic Games. Simultaneous (同时发生的) timing and photography of contestants. A brilliant idea!”
The next step in timekeeping was the photo-finish camera with a time stamp imprinted on each picture, which was introduced at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. The 1948 Olympics saw the introduction of another invention with the continuous slit camera (狭缝摄影机), where a film behind a narrow slit rolls (滚动) with the same speed as the runners. Four years later the clocks were connected to the slit camera giving a solution of 1/100 s. But it was not until 1972 that official times were recorded to the 100th of a second.
The next big step in the eighties was to make the camera digital to speed up the feedback (反馈). But the idea behind the slit camera was kept and is still the basis of all timing systems for athletics used today. The only difference is that now there is a very narrow sensor array ( 阵列传感器) instead of the moving film.
After a century technology has reached the point where the whole timing system can be stored in a smartphone. So in a way, the circle was closed when SprintTimer, a sports timer and photo finish app, was developed in the same place and precisely a hundred years after Ragnar Carlstedt.
1. What do we know about electronic timing?| A．It was created in recent years. |
| B．It was first introduced at the Olympics. |
| C．It was developed by the well-known company Ericsson. |
| D．It was perfected by the Swedish inventor Ragnar Carlstedt. |
| A．The increasing need for a finish line camera. |
| B．The excellent performance of Arnold Jackson. |
| C．The significant role of Carlstedt's another invention. |
| D．The intense competition of the 1,500-meter Olympic final. |
| A．It avoided the use of a moving film. |
| B．It rolled with the same speed as the runners. |
| C．It made a 100th-of-a-second record possible. |
| D．It adopted a new idea for all timing systems used today. |
| A．Further improvement was discontinued. |
| B．The problem was back to the origin. |
| C．A new invention was created. |
| D．The issue was resolved. |
7 . Today, you can buy a pair of sneakers (运动鞋) partially made from carbon dioxide pulled out of the atmosphere. But measuring the carbon-reduction benefits of making that pair of sneakers with carbon dioxide is complex. There’s the carbon dioxide that stayed in the ground, a definite carbon reduction. But what about the energy cost of cooling the carbon dioxide into liquid form and transporting it to a production facility? And what about when your kid outgrows the shoes in six months and they can’t be recycled into a new product because those systems aren’t in place yet?
Researchers are trying to help companies figure out how to account for each step in a product’s life.
As companies try to reduce their carbon footprint, many are doing life cycle assessments to measure the full carbon cost of products, from the obtaining of materials to energy use in manufacturing, from product transport to users’ behavior and end-of-life disposal (处理). It’s an impressively complex measurement, but such bean-counting is needed to hold the planet to a livable temperature, says low-carbon systems expert Andrea Ramirez Ramirez of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Carbon use can be reduced at many points along the production chain—by using renewable energy in the manufacturing process, for instance, or by adding atmospheric carbon dioxide to the product. But if other points along the chain like transporting consume more energy or give off more carbon dioxide, Andrea notes, the final record may show a decrease rather than a reduction. A product is carbon-reduction only when its production actually removes carbon from the environment, temporarily or permanently.
In the rush to create products that can fight climate change, however, some companies have been charged with “greenwashing”—making products appear more environmentally friendly than they really are. Examples include labeling (用标签表明) plastic garbage bags as recyclable when their whole purpose is to be thrown away; using labels such as “eco-friendly” or “100% Natural” without official certification; and claiming a better carbon footprint without acknowledging the existence of even better choices.
1. How does the author lead in the topic of the text?| A．By listing specific figures. | B．By putting up questions. |
| C．By referring to documents. | D．By offering some solutions. |
| A．Difficult but meaningful. | B．Expensive but promising. |
| C．Energy-saving and affordable. | D．Time-consuming and valueless. |
| A．Using renewable energy in production. |
| B．Changing carbon dioxide into material. |
| C．Reducing carbon footprint in products’ life. |
| D．Cutting down carbon dioxide in transporting. |
| A．Companies are sparing no efforts to reduce carbon use. |
| B．Plastic garbage bags must be labeled as “eco-friendly”. |
| C．Most products are less environmentally friendly than before. |
| D．There is a long way to cut some companies’ ”greenwashing“. |
8 . “Going wireless is the future for just about everything!” That is a quote from scientist Sreekanth Chalasani, and we can’t help but agree. Realizing this, a team of scientists has made a breakthrough toward wirelessly controlling human cells using sound, in a technique called “sonogenetics (声遗传学).” This concept may seem strange but let us explain.
Basically, the term “sonogenetics” means using ultrasound (超声波) to change the behavior of cells in a non-invasive manner. “We already know that ultrasound is safe, and that it can go through bone, muscle and other tissues, making it the ultimate tool for controlling cells deep in the body,” says Chalasani.
Low-frequency ultrasound waves can target a particular protein that is sensitive to the signal. This research, published in Nature Communications, focused on TRPA1. When this protein is stimulated through the ultrasound waves, it also stimulates the cells which carry it. What type of cell is being stimulated depends on the outcome. For example, a muscle cell may contract with stimulation, or a neuron (神经元) in the brain will fire. In this experiment, scientists genetically marked cells with an increased concentration of TRPA1, making them the key targets of the ultrasound waves.
Currently, treating conditions like Parkinson’s disease requires scientists to implant electrodes (电极) in the brain which stimulate certain disordered cells. Researchers hope that sonogenetics can one day replace these invasive treatments.
In the future, the team wants to adjust the placement and amount of TRPAI around the body using the gene treatment. Gene delivery techniques have already been shown to be successful in humans, such as in treating blindness. Therefore, it’s just a case of adjusting this theory to a different sound-based setting.
“Gene delivery techniques already exist for getting a new gene—such as TRPA1—into the human heart,” Chalasani says. “If we can then use an external ultrasound device to activate those cells, that could really change pacemakers.” There is still a while to go before this treatment can become a reality. The future for sonogenetics, though, looks bright.
1. What’s working principle for sonogenetics?| A．Using medicine interventional therapies. |
| B．Changing cells’ shape with new equipment. |
| C．Controlling cells in a non-invasive manner. |
| D．Using a kind of unique medical composition. |
| A．Change the concentration of the protein. |
| B．Find target cells for treatment precisely. |
| C．Analyze the protein sensitive to the sign. |
| D．Choose the type of cell to be stimulated. |
| A．It can be applied to other fields besides medicine. |
| B．It may replace some traditional medical therapies. |
| C．It will totally transform gene delivery techniques. |
| D．It has succeeded in curing diseases like blindness. |
| A．Can cells be controlled by sound? |
| B．How is sonogenetics clinically used? |
| C．Are gene delivery techniques available? |
| D．What are applications of sonogenetics? |
9 . The Feynman Technique(费曼学习法)is a powerful method that you can use to learn anything faster because it forces you to actively think about the problem instead of passively reading or listening to someone else talk about it. You can take the following five simple steps to study better.
·Find out the topic you want to learn.
·Explain the topic as if teaching a sixth-grader. This step is the heart of the FeynmanTechnique—
.Identify areas of improvement in your explanation. You’ll need to critically(批判性地)review the explanation you cane up with in Step Two
·Improve and optimiez(优化) your explanation. Think about all the knowledge gaps and other areas of improvement you found before.
· Repeat the steps until you’ve achieved mastery of the topic. Keep going through each step you're fully satisfied with your explanation.
| A．Use those to improve your explanation |
| B．To do so, take a critical look at your explanation |
| C．Make sure that your explanation is interest-based |
| D．Your explanations need to be short and to the point |
| E．The Feynman Technique works best with a repeat |
| F．It’s important that you clearly know the topics you’re trying to learn |
| G．Explaining the topic simply enough to be understood by a sixth-grade student |
10 . The world has changed greatly since Herman Fisher met Irving Price and Helen Schelle in 1930. The trio (三人组) founded Fisher-Price, maker of popular toy series such as Thomas & Friends, Power Wheels, and Little People. Companies like Fisher-Price are exploring how the world of toys and parenting will change with the development of technology. Fisher-Price recently cooperated with Continuum, a global innovation designer. Together, they created a short video called The Future of Parenting, along with a short essay explaining the thoughts behind the video.
One thought of the video explores how parenting will change when the teens of today raised with data-providing devices such as Fitbit and iPad begin raising kids of their own. Is this a generation that will desire data in all of their kids’ toys? The answer may be “yes” and perhaps the product appearing in the video will appeal to them.
If you interpret the video as a clear vision of the future of parenting, you won’t be blamed for fearing holograms (全息图) will take over your house as a mom or dad. The benefit of holograms in the video is their potential for giving traditional toys the ability to personalize responses, depending on the age and development of the child playing with the traditional toy.
Of course, you might ask yourself, “Do data-providing toys have an advantage over traditional toys in terms of their effects?” The answer may be negative. Lego, a traditional brick toy-maker, on all counts remains a successful company. And studies point out its toys’ benefits to children’s creativity. In addition, recent research demonstrates that toys containing data can potentially prevent language development, compared with traditional puzzles and bricks.
On the one hand, parents know that they should limit their kids’ screen time to keep them healthy, and the American Academy of Pediatrics offers guidance on daily screen time. On the other hand, technology can be wonderfully engaging and can provide excellent educational opportunities for children. Nothing is perfect and we should embrace every aspect of a new thing.
1. What are companies like Fisher-Price currently exploring?| A．The impact of technological advances on toys and parenting. |
| B．The way to be an outstanding global innovation designer. |
| C．New ideas of making short videos of creative toys. |
| D．Techniques used to produce popular toy series. |
| A．be fond of devoting themselves to improving technology |
| B．be afraid of the negative impact of electronic toys |
| C．pass their preference for such toys on to their kids |
| D．show great creativity and imagination |
| A．Advantages and disadvantages of modern technology. |
| B．Comparisons of the effects of two kinds of toys. |
| C．Suggestions on how to choose suitable toys. |
| D．Advances in technology used to make toys. |
| A．Love me, love my dog. |
| B．Actions speak louder than words. |
| C．Everything is a two-edged sword. |
| D．Hope for the best; prepare for the worst. |
