1 . When we’re facing a problem, we often gather a group to brain-storm. We’re looking to get the best ideas as quickly as possible. I love seeing it happen, except for one question—group brainstorming usually has opposite effects.
In brainstorming meetings, many good ideas are lost. Research shows that when attending brainstorming meetings, people tend to bite their tongues either because they don’t want to look stupid, or they avoid talking all at once, and sometimes they just follow the crowd. As a result, we end up waving goodbye to different ideas and saying hello to group thinking.
To find the hidden strength in teams, instead of brainstorming, we’d better turn to a process called “brainwriting.” The first steps are done individually. We start by asking everyone to create ideas separately. Next, we collect them and share them without names among the group. Only then does the team come together to select the best choices. By developing and judging ideas individually before choosing them, teams can present possibilities that might not get attention otherwise.
Research by organizational behavior expert Anita Woolley helps to explain why brainstorming fails and brainwriting works. She finds that a key to group intelligence is to offer people equal chances to voice their ideas. In brainstorming meetings, people tend to follow the loudest voices and the most powerful people. However, the brainwriting process makes sure that all ideas are brought to the table and all voices are brought into the conversation. The goal isn’t to be the smartest person in the room—it’s to make the room smarter.
1. What do the underlined words “bite their tongues” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Keep silent. | B．Stay calm. |
| C．Injure their mouths. | D．Express their ideas. |
| A．It makes people perform confidently. | B．It improves people’s writing ability. |
| C．It helps people think independently. | D．It benefits people’s mental health. |
| A．What makes a smart conversation | B．How team intelligence plays a part |
| C．Why brainwriting is a better choice | D．Where group brainstorming works |
2 . On a recent drive through Cleveland, Texas, Linda was surprised when a skinny dog on the road approached her car. Linda, who has experience in saving lost dogs in the area, knew something was wrong.
Unfortunately, the dog got away before Linda could help. But days later, Linda saw the dog again. This time, Linda stopped the car and the dog ran over. She was heartbroken to see the dog was ill-fed and in sadness, so Linda put the dog in her car and drove home to care for her.
Safe at Linda’s home, the dog happily ate and drank. But the dog, later named Nala, still seemed anxious. As she gave Nala a bath, Linda noticed the dog’s body showed signs of having recently given birth. Linda was alarmed—were Nala’s babies somewhere out there, all alone?
Linda rushed Nala back to the place where they first met and encouraged the dog to lead the way. Nala’s ears went up and her nose started moving, and then suddenly she took off running. Finally they arrived at a deserted house. Searching the area, Linda felt her heart almost jumped out of her body—there, hiding in a corner of the house, were Nala’s six baby dogs. “I was so thankful they were still alive.” Linda was in disbelief.
Now Linda’s house has become Nala and her babies’ loving home. “I hope all the animals have their own homes and are treated well by humans,” Linda said.
1. What do we know about Linda and the dog’s first meeting?| A．Linda took the dog home. | B．Linda saw the dog’s babies. |
| C．The dog was in good condition. | D．The dog came close to Linda’s car. |
| A．She didn’t like bathing. | B．She was not treated well. |
| C．She would give birth soon. | D．She worried about her babies. |
| A．In an empty house. | B．Under Linda’s car. |
| C．On a country road. | D．Near Linda’s home. |
| A．Humorous. | B．Caring. | C．Selfless. | D．Determined. |
3 . Welcome to our collections! We have so much for you to enjoy, explore and experience!
The LIFE Picture Collection
The LIFE Picture Collection(LIFE) is one of the most important picture files in the United States of the 20th century. From 1936 to 2000, LIFE collected more than 10 million photos across 120,000 stories. The original photos and articles were collected by Meredith, a well-known photographer who created LIFE.
LIFE works with individuals and organizations to research, show, and reproduce our pictures for new visitors. If you’re interested in teaming up with us, please check out the information on this page.
Other Collections
In addition to LIFE, we have also got a number of picture collections for you to view, including:
●DMI Collection: pictures about famous people from the late 1970s to the early 2000s.
●Dahlstrom Collection: 7000 photos of New York and the mid-Atlantic area.
●Hugo Jaeger Photographic Collection: color photos of Europe.
●Mansell Collection: works focusing on art and culture.
Using Our Content
We are happy to work with you. You are permitted to use our pictures. Please contact us for any of the following:
●Photos for book, magazine and website
●Museum and Art Show
●Research
1. What can we learn about LIFE?| A．Its photos add up to 120,000. | B．It includes many old pictures. |
| C．It only works with individuals. | D．Its photos were all taken by Meredith. |
| A．DMI Collection. | B．Mansell Collection. |
| C．Dahlstrom Collection. | D．Hugo Jaeger Photographic Collection. |
| A．A letter. | B．A speech. | C．An Interview. | D．An introduction. |
Venice is in the northeast of Italy. It was built on small islands in saltwater lakes more than 1,500 years ago. It is a city with no cars and people travel by boat. There are 117 waterways and more than 400 bridges that can guide you to any place you want to go.
Los Angeles
It was founded in 1781. It is now the second largest city in the United States. It is famous for Hollywood, which is the oldest film industry of the world. It is also the home of Disneyland.
Budapest
The population of Budapest is about 1.7 million and the city is a very popular place for tourists. Visitors like to take boat rides along the Danube (多瑙河). Budapest is known for its exciting nightlife. The best time to visit Budapest is summer.
Singapore City
It is the capital of Singapore. For many tourists, the city is a wonderful place in Southeast Asia. It has a night zoo called “Night Safari”. People can watch lions, tigers and foxes there.
1. How do people travel around in Venice?| A．By boat. | B．By car. | C．By train. | D．By bus. |
| A．Spring. | B．Summer. | C．Autumn. | D．Winter. |
| A．A storybook. | B．A dictionary. |
| C．A travel guidebook. | D．A book review. |
5 . Many people know that rubbish is a big problem on the Earth. What many people don’t know is that rubbish is becoming a problem in outer space too. Years of space exploration (探索) have left tons of “space junk” (太空垃圾) around the planet.
According to the reports of BBC, there are more than 22,000 pieces of rubbish in space around the Earth. And these are just the objects that are easy to see. There may be millions of smaller pieces of rubbish that we can’t see.
The pieces of space junk move around the planet at very high speeds. They move so fast that even a very small piece can become dangerous. If they crashed (碰撞) into each other, it could cause explosions that might even hurt people on the Earth. If the tiniest piece of rubbish crashed into a space shuttle (航天飞机), it could blow open a hole as big as an elephant.
To help solve this problem, countries around the world have agreed to limit the time their space tools stay in space to 25 years. Each tool must fall safely into the Earth’s atmosphere, or upper parts of the sky. There, it will burn up, and it won’t crash near the Earth.
1. What is becoming a problem in outer space?| A．Unseen things. | B．Many big holes. |
| C．Too much space junk. | D．A lot of explosions. |
| A．It may kill elephants. |
| B．It causes air pollution. |
| C．It moves faster than space shuttles. |
| D．It may cause explosions and hurt people. |
| A．Burn them on the Earth. | B．Limit their time in space. |
| C．Let them crash in the sky. | D．Make them move slowly. |
6 . All living things on Earth need water to live. Yet humans are facing serious water problems. According to the United Nations, today over 663 million people live without a safe water supply close to home.
To remind people of the importance of water, the UN first set up World Water Day in 1993. It is on Mar 22 each year. From Mar 22 to 28 is also the China Water Week. The first year’s theme is “Waste water”. It tried to call people to reuse waste water instead of wasting it.
In Australia people make good use of waste water. Most Australians have a grass lawn around their home instead of washing the car in the street. Many of them wash it on the lawn to keep the grass longer so that it covers the ground and reduce evaporation.
Rainwater may seem useless to you. But you can also reuse it. People in Germany collect rainwater to wash their toilets. Most houses in the country that are built in the last few years have rainwater collection devices (设备). Rainwater is collected from the root, and then linked to the toilet. But if you don’t have the device just put a bucket (桶) under your roof when it rains.
Water makes up 71 percent of Earth’s surface. But we can only use a very small part of it. Only about 3 percent of the world’s water is fresh water. It’s in lakes, rivers and underground.
Over 80 percent of the w
aste water in the world goes back into the nature. It has not been cleaned and pollutes the rivers and lakes. Unsafe water makes around 842,000 people die each year.
By 2030, about half of the world’s population could be facing water problem. By 2050, as many as seven billion people across the world could not have enough water supplies. The world’s population might be 9.3 billion by then.
1. The China Water Week in 2017 tries to___________.| A．collect rainwater to wash their toilets |
| B．remind people of the importance of water |
| C．put a bucket under your roof when it rains. |
| D．call people to reuse waste water instead of wasting it. |
| A．sit down | B．cut down | C．put down | D．write down |
| A．To share his rich knowledge about water. |
| B．To warn more people to save water. |
| C．To show how water problems change the world. |
| D．To tell people how to discover safe water supply. |
| A．Water in the world has become less and less. |
| B．Unsafe water makes so many people die. |
| C．Our planet will face serious water problems. |
| D．Learning to save water to protect our planet. |
7 . More than one billion pounds of pumpkins are grown in the U.S. every year, and after they’ve been used for Halloween, millions of them will end up in a waste yard.
“Driving around after Halloween, you see so many pumpkins on top of their garbage cans. All of them will go to a waste yard and become methane gas(沼气),” says Kay McKeen, director of an environmental education organization based in Illinois.
Methane is a greenhouse gas. Compared to CO2, it warms the atmosphere in a shorter amount of time, which means it’s a most important cause of climate change. And waste yards—where we send as much as 40 percent of the food we produce—take up 14 percent of methane produced in the US every year.
That’s why, in 2014, McKeen began a collection event where local people can bring their waste pumpkins to 69 different locations to send them off to the bins, and—of course—smash them to pieces.
“It puts nutrients(营养) back in our soil, it saves water, it doesn’t make methane gas—it’s just a win-win,” says McKeen.
But not everyone has access to pumpkin smashing events, so we asked our newsletter readers how they reduce their pumpkin waste. The answers are various, ranging from baking sweet treats to bringing a pumpkin treat to farm animals.
1. What happens after Halloween?| A．A lot of pumpkins are thrown away. |
| B．People are busy cleaning up garbage. |
| C．It is the best time for pumpkin harvest. |
| D．People use pumpkins to make methane gas. |
| A．Pumpkins cause the climate change. |
| B．Illinois people waste half of their food. |
| C．Both methane and CO2 are greenhouse gases. |
| D．Methane is the only reason for climate change. |
| A．Burn. | B．Shake. | C．Break. | D．Press. |
| A．A letter. | B．A speech. | C．A news report. | D．A health report. |
8 . A British climber who died on the slopes of Mount Everest had warned of the dangers of huge queues for the summit just hours before his death.
Robin Haynes Fisher died after reaching the summit of the world's highest mountain.The deaths have aroused concerns over the large numbers of people scaling Everest, lining up to climb it.
An Instagram posted shortly before Fishers death, revealed his own fears about the situation and how he had changed his plans to try to avoid crowds. In another post, the 14-year-old described having received oxygen training for the so-called ‘death zone’.
“He achieved so much in his short life, climbing Mont Blanc, Aconcagua and Everest, statement from his family said.” He was a ‘tough guy’, triathlete, (三项全能的运动员) and marathoner. A champion for vegetarianism, published author, and a cultured theatre goer, lover of Shakespeare, “We are deeply saddened by his loss as he still had so many more adventures and dreams to fulfil. ”
There are 41 teams with a total of 378 climbers, plus an equal number of Nepalese guides helping them, who are permitted to scale the mountain during the spring climbing season in Nepal that begins around March and ends this month.
Mr Fisher is one of seven climbers to die on the mountain in the past two weeks. His death comes a week after Trinity College professor Seamus (Shay) Lawless, 39, fell during his going down from the peak having achieved a lifetime ambition of reaching the summit. The search for Mr Lawless has been called off. An American climber, Austrian climber and two Indian climbers are also reported to have died.
1. Why was Robin Haynes Fisher worried?| A．Because no guides helped him |
| B．Because it was snowing heavily in the mountain. |
| C．Because he had never climbed mountains before |
| D．Because there were too many people lining up to climb the mountain. |
| A．walking | B．hiking | C．climbing | D．going |
| A．41 | B．756 | C．378 | D．411 |
| A．Mr. lawless was one of the dead |
| B．All the dead were from the same country |
| C．All the bodies of the dead will be carried down |
| D．There were eight persons dead in the past two weeks |
9 . I am glad that I learned the value of work when I was a little boy. I grew up on a farm in New York. We had to care for the animals day and night, seven days a week. There was work to do even during school vacations and on weekends.
I was paid for my work. From the age of 10, I was paid $ 1 an hour. Because of this, I learned how to save and manage money at an early age. When I was only 11, I saved enough to buy a ten-speed bicycle. In high school, I took a job in a nearby town during the summer to save money for college.
I also learned the satisfaction of work well done. Looking after the young animals was my responsibility. Most farmers’ calves (小牛) often got sick. I was proud that mine were usually healthy. I loved it when the whole family worked together to get a field of dry grass into the barn (仓房) before a rainstorm. It was exciting when we jumped out of bed at midnight to chase (追赶) the cows back after they’d escaped through a broken fence.
Doing hard work at an early age taught me how rewarding it can be. These experiences taught me the value of hard work.
1. What was the author’s responsibility when he was a little boy?| A．Working in a factory. | B．Looking after animals. |
| C．Selling bicycles. | D．Planting crops. |
| A．To visit a nearby town. | B．To buy a new bicycle. |
| C．To save money for college. | D．To spend his summer holiday. |
| A．The author got satisfaction from doing work well. |
| B．The author liked working with his family. |
| C．The farmers’ animals were healthy. |
| D．Chasing cows back was a hard job. |
| A．The satisfaction of buying a bicycle. |
| B．The importance of going to college. |
| C．The love of family members. |
| D．The value of hard work. |
10 . The Cervantino Festival (塞万提斯艺术节) is held every year in the city of Guanajuato Mexico. The festival, which began in 1972, is in honor of Miguel de Cervantes, author of the famous Spanish novel Don Quixote de la Mancha (《堂吉诃德》Cervantino’s international atmosphere).
At its heart, Cervantino is a cultural festival. It takes place during October, lasting a full month. Over the course of the month, hundreds of cultural events are held in the city. The international nature of the festival makes it a popular tourism destination. Each year, one Mexican state and one international community are invited to be guests of honor at the festival. You don’t have to speak Spanish.
The festival is not widely known in the USA and other places where Spanish is not spoken. This is highly unfortunate, because the festival creates an international atmosphere where people from around the world can share their culture. Although many events are in Spanish, there are many others that require no special language, such as visual art exhibits and musical performances. In addition, a few of the performances, including plays, are subtitled in English and other languages, making the Cervantino Festival acceptable to everyone.
1. What is the purpose of starting the Cervantino Festival?| A．To attract more people to Guanajuato |
| B．To show respect for Miguel de Cervantes |
| C．To popularize Don Quixote de la Mancha. |
| D．To introduce a number of Mexican artists. |
| A．It gains international fame. |
| B．It is the longest festival in Mexico. |
| C．It concentrates on protecting nature. |
| D．It is held in different states every year. |
| A．Americans don t learn Spanish, |
| B．It only spreads Mexican culture |
| C．Most of its events are in Spanish. |
| D．No American communities have been invited |
