1 . How to Develop a Sense of Humor

A good sense of humor can make you the life of the party and help you go easier on yourself.   Using different forms of tricks, you’ll have people around you roaring with laughter.

Learn to tell the sort of jokes you find funny. Once you’ve learned what kind of humor you enjoy, try including it in your conversations with friends. Try to tell your jokes as if commenting on thẹ weather.     1    

Have fun.     2     Remember, you are more than your humor. Try to find the world engaging, new, and strange. This will help improve your overall mood and make it easier for you to find humor in things if you allow yourself to play. So get out there and have fun with yourself!

    3     If the way you tell a story goes a long way toward making it funny, practice it as you talk. Smile and laugh along with everyone. If you’re telling a shocking part of the story, widen your eyes and lean forward for a dramatic effect. You can also use your hands to be more expressive and get a laugh on others, too.

Joke kindly and carefully.     4     If you are making fun of a friend, try to joke about a positive aspect of that person rather than a weakness. If a colleague is always on time, say you set your watch by him or her. If your children write a good paper for school, say they’ll be promoted to a teacher next.     5    

A．Surround yourself with funny people.

B．Use your body language to be more engaging.

C．Jokes about friends should not show them in a bad light.

D．A casual delivery is often the funniest part of an unusual comment.

E．Focus on their delivery and how they turn it into something humorous.

F．Jokes out of place may look like a power move on your parting with them.

G．Avoid getting so caught up in making people laugh that you forget to enjoy yourself.

2 . Walk along the streets of Beijing and listen carefully to the little babies calling for their mothers while out on an evening walk and what do you hear? mama.     1    . Italian and French babies want their mama and maman respectively. And in East Africa, Swahili-speakers say mama and Arab-speaking children often call their mothers yemma.     2    . In Malaysia, it’s not unusual for mothers to be addressed as mak. The sound ma is almost universal in Europe, and very common even among completely unrelated languages spoken in faraway places. How did this come about? How did one syllable (音节) become so universal in children’s vocabularies the world over?

    3    . Hungry babies only have to open their mouths wide and scream AAAAAAH to pronounce their first vowel-A. Later, as they start playing around with their mouths, all they have to do is to close and open their lips to make an M, their very first consonant (辅音).     4    , they’ve discovered another sound! Adults hearing babies making this charming string of mamama sounds might think that the babies are calling out to them. A mother would then naturally assume that she’s the one being addressed and so would refer to herself as mama!

Another theory is that babies naturally produce nasal (鼻的) sounds, like a very soft mhmh-mlmh while breastfeeding. Indeed mamma means “breast” in Latin.     5    .

A．That’s not all

B．That is to say

C．You can say “mom” in any country in the world

D．We have “mother” but we’ll accept “mama” as a first word

E．And this also happens to be the source of both “mammary” and “mammal”

F．On the other side of the world you’ll hear Spanish children crying for mama

G．Some experts believe that the simplest explanation lies in the very first sounds babies make

3 . Nasugraq Rainey Hopson is an author and illustrator (插图画家). She has written short stories and made art inspired by her Iñupiaq culture. The Iñupiaq people are native to Alaska, the US. Hopson’s first and only novel to date, Eagle Drums, is set in Iñupiaq tales about a great festival. The great festival is still celebrated locally today.

In the book, the hero Pina struggles with the suffering from losing his brothers, who have traveled to a nearby mountain and never returned. Pina decides to go to the same mountain, trying to uncover the facts, where he happens to meet Savik, who gives Pina a choice: To follow him or to meet the same fortune as his brothers. Pina’s decision takes himself on a journey that exposes himself to the dances and songs that are part of Iñupiaq culture. Eagle Drums describes aspects of Iñupiaq life as a world that doesn’t exist much in the current world, such as walking in the tundra (苔原) and imagining mythological beings and talking animals everywhere. It will definitely inspire the teen magical thinking in its beauty.

Hopson wants to write more Iñupiaq stories. “We have a lot of oral history and stories in our culture,” she says. Hopson explains that Iñupiaq people use their voices, facial expressions and movements to express emotions as they tell a story. “But you can’t do that when you’re writing,” she says. “It’s very uncomfortable, in a way, to have to write down something that is a performance.” But she’s up for the challenge.

Eagle Drums is for anyone who is looking for a vivid adventure. Hopson says that when Iñupiaq kids read her work, they get excited about seeing something from their own area and their own culture. Other kids who read her work tell Hopson they’re excited about experiencing a story they’ve never experienced before in a new place. “You know, that’s the best part, hearing feedbacks,” she says.

1. What do we know about Eagle Drums?

A．It is based on the author’s culture.	B．It is about a world-famous festival.
C．It is one of the author’s best novels.	D．It is rich in illustrations on each page.

2. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us about Eagle Drums?

A．Its intention.	B．Its background.
C．Its content.	D．Its comment.

3. Why does Hopson think it uncomfortable to write Iñupiaq stories?

A．The Iñupiaq people are poor performers

B．The Iñupiaq culture is too rich for words.

C．The Iñupiaq language is difficult to catch on.

D．The Iñupiaq stories are little known by people.

4. What is the text?

A．A news report.	B．A childhood story.
C．A diary entry.	D．A book review.

4 . It is common for people to believe that by reading something over and over again they will learn it. However, repetition alone does not ensure learning.     1     According to some reports, this is the most popular way students attempt to learn. However, mere exposure does not necessarily lead to better memory. What matters most is the approach taken when trying to learn the material. Here are some tips for effective learning.

Develop focused attention.     2     Focused attention requires you to keep in mind what is important to your current goal. Attention is a skill; it can be learned. Research indicates various forms of mindfulness, meditation, and other strategies can lead to improved attention.

    3     All learning and memory formation is heavily dependent on brain health. Various types of exercise are beneficial for brain health. The foundations of brain health include exercise, nutrition, and cultivating positive social interactions.     4     Nutrition recommendations include eating a balanced diet. Social interactions are good for brain health, but only when they are positive interactions.

Space your learning sessions. Memory is best when you spread your studying or training across multiple sessions. One of the key reasons that spaced learning increases memory is that each time you study, you may perceive the material from a different perspective.     5    

A．Focus on brain health.

B．Practice challenging activities.

C．This may come as a surprise to many.

D．The exercise can vary from low to high intensity.

E．Memory reflects the ability to acquire information.

F．Learning is a process which is enhanced when it occurs over time.

G．Whatever you are learning, focused attention is a key requirement.

5 . Here are four small places in England, all packed with delightful scenery and more.

Lavenham. Suffolk   

In the town, ancient buildings lean casually into one another. As a result, wandering down the high street feels like walking through a fairy tale or a Hollywood movie as Lavenham has appeared in many Hollywood movies. Behind the high walls are several excellent restaurants, but first time visitors should go to the Lavenham Guildhall, where you can drink tea in a well-preserved Tudor room.

Shaftesbury, Dorset

Home to Gold I Hill, the cobblestone street known as “one of the most romantic sights in England”. Shaftesbury is a major charmer. The tiny Dorset town is also home to the ruins of Shaftesbury Abbey, built in 888 AD by King Alfred, a man well-known for creating England. Shaftesbury is also surrounded by a wealth of incredible countryside rich in picnicking potential including Duncliffe Wood and Melbury Beacon.

St Ives. Cornwall   

St Ives used to be little more than a traditional fishing village, but now it has developed into a popular coastal town. Its soft, sandy beaches regularly win awards and there are also plenty of top seafood dining options. The town has even gained a reputation as a serious arts center, with lots of outstanding galleries led by the Tate St Ives, which features attractive modern art exhibitions focusing on British artists.

Castle Combe. Wiltshire       

Recognized as the “pretticst village in England”. Castle Combe is famous for its handsome honey colored stone houses and flower-lined lanes (小巷) which have decorated countless postcards and magazine covers over the years.

1. What do Lavenham and Shaftesbury have in common?

A．They offer special local food.

B．They provide a sense of historical experience.

C．They are known as great film shooting bases.

D．They have many places suitable for picnicking.

2. Where will you choose to go if you enjoy seafood?

A．Lavenham, Suffolk.	B．Shaftesbury. Dorset.
C．St Ives. Cornwall.	D．Castle Combe, Wiltshire.

3. What attracts visitors to Castle Combe?

A．Its traditional culture.	B．Its interesting movies.
C．Its beautiful postcards.	D．Its unique architecture.

6 . These are some of the overall winners in the Sony World Photography Awards (奖). More than 340,000 pictures were handed in to the contest and more than 156,000 were entered in the professional (专业的) competition.

Living in the Transition pt. 6

Shunta Kimura of Japan won in the Professional, Environment type for this picture of a woman walking in the water, catching small fish in the river. Kimura describes the series of photos: I photographed these pictures in Gabura Union, Bangladesh. The purpose of this photo is to film the situation for people influenced by climate change.

Dorf 7

Domagoj Burilovié of Croatia won in the Professional, Architecture and Design type for his series of German villages. “Dorf” is the German word for village. This photo describes a historic village house, local forests and plants taken in Slavonia. With the disappearance of the village, the historic houses that became part of its cultural character are the first to decay (腐烂).

Venezuelan Migrant, Colombia 6

Jan Grarup of Denmark earned top honors in the Professional, Documentary Projects type for the series, “The Children of the Financial Collapse in Venezuela”. The picture shows a young girl being transported home by her father along the rubbish site, on the abandoned airstrip outside Maicao in Colombia. More than 8.5 million people in Colombia need help.

The Guardians

Lorenzo Poli of Italy won in the Professional, Landscape type for this series “Life On Earth”. The picture shows trees are the guardians of the water cycle (循环) and they help control the water cycle by managing evaporation and moves. Poli said, “There is an untouched world, where the key of life is safeguarded by silence. This is what I am seeking to photograph.”

1. Which photo interests people who like historic villages?

A．Living in the Transition pt. 6.	B．Dorf 7.
C．Venezuelan Migrant, Colombia 6.	D．The Guardians.

2. What does the four pictures have in common?

A．They describe the movement of water.

B．They are prize-winning works of the competition.

C．They were taken in Bangladesh and Venezuela.

D．They mainly focus on environmental protection.

3. Where is the text probably from?

A．A museum guide.	B．A geography textbook.
C．A photo magazine.	D．A travel website.

7 . Dogs may have earned the title of our best friends through their interactions with humans, but now researchers say these social skills could, be present shortly after birth rather than being learned.

To better understand the role of biology in dogs’ abilities to communicate with humans, the researchers studied 375 eight-week-old service dogs. They looked at how these dogs performed in a series of tasks designed to measure their communication skills. The puppies were still living with their littermates (同窝出生者) and had not been sent to live with a volunteer puppy raiser, making it unlikely that they had learned about his or her behavior.

In the first task, a person hid a treat beneath one of two overturned cups and pointed to it to see if the puppy could follow the gesture. Since dogs are good at using noses to find things a treat was also taped to the insides of, both cups. In the second task, puppies watched as the researchers placed a yellow, block next to the correct cup, instead of pointing to indicate where the puppy should look for the food.

The third task was designed to observe puppies’ tendency to look at human faces. The researchers spoke to the puppy in a voice people sometimes use when talking to a baby. They then measured how long the puppy fixed a stare on the human.

In the last task, researchers sealed a treat inside a closed container and presented it to the puppy. They then measured how often the puppy looked to the human for help in opening the container.

The study found that while many of the puppies were responsive to humans’ physical and verbal cues, very few looked to humans for help with the unsolvable task. Researchers said, “This suggests that while puppies may be born knowing how to respond to human-initiated communication, the ability to initiate communication on their own may come later.” The next step will be to see if specific genes that may contribute to dogs’ abilities to communicate with humans can be identified.

1. Why were eight-week-old service dogs chosen for the study?

A．They were the best age to learn.

B．They were cute and safe to deal with.

C．They were unlikely influenced by their mates.

D．They had had little contact with humans before.

2. What is the researchers’ purpose in taping food to both cups?

A．To provide clues for the puppies’ final decisions.

B．To make comparisons between different conditions.

C．To prevent the puppies from making use of their smell.

D．To check the puppies’ preference for a particular color.

3. What can we know from the study?

A．Puppies can understand our body language.

B．Puppies are good at asking humans for help.

C．Puppies are born to arouse communication with humans.

D．Puppies need specific genes to communicate with humans.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Dogs—talented performers	B．Dogs—humans’ best friends
C．Dogs—born to be able to learn	D．Dogs—born to understand humans

8 . I’ve never had a great sense of direction. And I often wander into shops and, upon coming back out, can’t remember which way I’ve come from — left or right? Many people are like me, and why do some constantly have no idea where they are?

The hippocampus (海马体) is a region of the brain associated with memory and involved in sense of direction. And a nearby region has also been associated with sense of direction. There are four known types of navigation-related neurons (神经元), found in these regions place cells, grid cells, border cells and head direction cells.

In short, you can think of place cells as an internal cognitive (认知的) map; they identify where you are. Grid cells are like a GPS system in our brain; they tell us about the relationship of this place to other places we’ve been to. Border cells respond to the presence of environmental boundaries at a specific direction and distance from us. Lastly, head direction cells are activated when our head faces a specific direction. These cells will fire electrical impulses when we enter familiar locations, with each group of cells relating to a specific place.

Our reliance on GPS and smartphones may have decreased the ability to use our internal maps. Older adults who regularly used GPS had less activity in their hippocampus, compared with those who did not use GPS. They also performed slightly worse in a cognition test. In contrast, a study involving London taxi drivers found they significantly larger hippocampus than ordinary people.

You can improve your way-finding ability specifically by practicing the skill, according to Aziz, PhD of neurology at Temple University School of Medicine. “The more you get out and go to places, the better,” he says. Physical exercise improves the blood flow to the brain, while mental exercise, such as doing puzzles or learning a new language, stimulates the development of new nerve cells and connections in your brain.

1. How does the author introduce the topic of the text?

A．By raising a question.

B．By making a comparison.

C．By stating personal opinions.

D．By referring to scientific research.

2. What can we learn about the four types of navigation-related neurons?

A．They depend closely on each other.

B．They are responsible for different jobs.

C．They will decrease in numbers as one ages.

D．They will fail to function in unfamiliar situations.

3. What will happen it we rely too much on GPS?

A．We will easily be misled.

B．Our hippocampus will get enlarged.

C．Our cognitive ability will be affected.

D．We will have our hippocampus relaxed.

4. What are we advised to do according to the last paragraph?

A．Build up our body.	B．Take training courses.
C．Try different brain exercises.	D．Get out to connect with people.

9 . This Is How You Walk the Walk

People call walking the“perfect exercise”. It gets your heart pumping, clears your head and fills your lungs with fresh air. Not bad, but we found a way to make it even better. Before you take your next 10,000 steps, add a little stuck to your stroll. Take a Stawer walking stick anywhere and I promise that you’ll feel like a conquering hero. Its powers will astonish you.

What’s the secret?

Our Stawer walking sticks are a tip of the top hat to turn-of-the-century tradition.Today, serious collectors gladly pay thousands for rare and handcrafted sticks from the 19th century. But only Stawer walking sticks can deliver a modern version of these classics that looks and feels as good as the original for only $59 each!

Details

·36 inches long. Imported Eucalyptus wood.

·Solid brass handles with varying finishes.

·Rubber tips. Supports up to 250 pounds.

·All models available in 40 inches height.

Your satisfaction 100% guaranteed

Experience the comfort and elegance of our delicate walking sticks for 30 days. If you’re not feeling the power, simply send it back within 30 days for a refund (退款) of the item price.

Still hesitate? Corne and check out the real users’ reviews!

Praise for Stawer walking sticks

“An excellent walking stick. Solid and elegant. Perfect for a night out. Well crafted.”

Mr Jacob/from Pacific Grove, CA

Limited Edition

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1. Which is unrelated to Mr Jacob’s review about the Stawer walking stick?

A．Its firmness.	B．Its craftsmanship.
C．Its cheapness.	D．Its practicality.

2. What are we advised to do before buying the stick?

A．Prepare enough money.	B．Check reviews first.
C．Apply for a discount.	D．Buy as soon as possible.

3. Where can we read the text?

A．A travel brochure.

B．A business magazine.

C．A product survey.

D．An instruction book.

10 . If you find yourself signing up for things that, in reality, you don’t want to do, you’re not alone. Hershfield has found that we often agree to things we don’t want to do because we tend to hold a more brilliant version of our “future selves”.     1     .

Use your current schedule as a guide.     2     . So before you commit to something a few months away, glance over the last two weeks of your schedule to give yourself a clear idea of how much time you usually have in a given week.

    3     . If an event is months away, Hershfield said, imagine that it takes place next week, or the week after. Would you commit? If the answer is no, it probably won’t feel any more appealing a few months from now, he said.

Are you still hesitated? Weigh the cost. If you are unsure about an event, weigh the benefits by asking yourself a few questions.     4     . Or, Hershfield said, you might ask whether the thing you’re afraid of is “A one-off event, or will it lead to other invitations?”

Treat your future self. If you’ve committed to an event, as a result, you know that life is going to become busy or stressful, be kind to yourself by practicing “pre-care”. What feels comfortable is different for everyone.     5     .

A．Pretend the commitment is sooner

B．You should avoid anything unpleasant

C．Ask yourself if the commitment is attractive

D．Here are four tips on how to have a bright future

E．An empty calendar tricks us to have much free time

F．Let’s use these strategies to set a more realistic schedule

G．You might wonder whether saying yes brings more benefits