1 . Top Exhibitions to See in London in 2023
Architectural: Vanishing Points
While we like to think of architecture existing purely in the real world, emerging designers and architects are using platforms like Instagram to create structures in the virtual world. This collection of works, which range from the practical to the fantastical, are all by architects who have gathered significant social media followings.
In the Digital Universe at ROCA London. 8 February—31 July, free.
Flowery: Orchids
This annual festival is back in bloom (开花), this time inspired by the beauty and biodiversity of Cameroon. Just like previous years, the orchids are spread throughout the various zones of the Princess of Wales conservatory and accompanied by sculptures that are just as colourful as the flowers on display.
At Kew Gardens. 4 February —5 March, &16.50—entrance to the gardens included.
Female Abstraction: Action, Gesture, Paint
Art history has often shone a light on the men of Abstract Expressionism, such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. Well, now’s the time to let the most important women of the movement take the limelight in an exhibition that includes works by American artists such as Lee Krasner and Helen Frankenthaler, but spreads the net wider to include the female abstract artists from Europe, Asia and the wider world, with whom most of us will be unfamiliar.
At Whitechapel Gallery. 9 February—7 May, £ 16.50—concessions available.
Powerful Portraits (肖像): Alice Neel
The largest UK exhibition to date of American painter Alice Neel’s work will bring together her figurative pieces from across her 60-year career. Neel went against the popular grain by painting figures when abstract works were most popular, and she painted subjects that other artists ignored — pregnant women, labour leaders, black children, civil rights activists and strange performers. It’s high time we had a major show of her work in London, and the Barbican has duly provided.
At Barbican Art Gallery. 16 February—21 May, & 18.
1. Which of the following exhibitions is held once a year?| A．Flowery: Orchids. |
| B．Powerful Portraits: Alice Neel. |
| C．Architectural: Vanishing Points. |
| D．Female Abstraction: Action, Gesture, Paint. |
| A．On February 8. | B．On January 7. | C．On April 7. | D．On May 8. |
| A．She is 60 years old now. |
| B．Her works didn’t follow the trend. |
| C．She often ignored some common subjects. |
| D．She is the most popular American painter in the UK. |
If you’ve ever sent an email that started with the words ”Just sending a friendly reminder to please...“ we have some bad news for you: It probably backfired. Not only are “friendly reminder” emails one of the annoying email habits you have, but everyone also secretly hates them.
To you, reminder email could simply be “a friendly way to ask for something that’s late,” Fast Company writes. But unfortunately, that might not be the message coming across to your coworkers. You need to quit this bad email habit and stop sending them immediately, and here’s why.
For one, if you use “hedge words” such as “kind of,” “maybe,” “probably.” etc., they will decrease your credibility with your coworkers. Although you might insert those phrases for a softer tone, they also make you sound insecure and not confident. Be clear with your choice of words, choosing the straightforward “sending a reminder,“ instead. Trust you’re your employees will appreciate the directness.
But that’s not even the worst part. It’s also easy for those reminder emails to get lost in people’s inboxes, if not ignored immediately. With countless emails flooding in per day, yours could easily get lost in the shuffle. Very likely, your coworkers will hit the ”delete“ button.
Still, you need to get their attention somehow, right? After all, you have a job to do! Once you send the classic reminder email, try scheduling a meeting with the person via calendar invite. Even re-sending the classic reminder email with a red “urgent” flag could do the trick. Doing so is practically guaranteed to get the message across - and still save face with your coworkers.
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How your unique story can get you hired?
You’re sitting at your computer to apply for your dream job, but suddenly you’re not confident enough to get it. So you don’t even submit the application. It is natural for you to experience self-doubt at such a crucial moment, especially if you’re people of color, first generation college student, or you don’t have a traditional background. The secret is to transform how you perceive your own story.
Ask yourself two questions. The first one: why do you want to do this work? Maybe you already know the kind of job or work environment that makes you happy, or maybe you haven’t quite figured that out yet. Usually, your personal experiences can help give you clues. For example, your brother had to overcome his dyslexia (诵读困难症), and you helped him with his reading. Gradually, you became interested in education. That motivated you to work as a teacher.
The second question you have to ask yourself: how can you tell your story to exhibit the unique qualities you have? For example, you undertook multiple jobs unrelated to your major while you were in college. When you’re in an interview, go ahead and talk about them, because it will show the employer that you have time management skills and a strong passion for work. Employers are looking for well-rounded individuals that are capable of accomplishing various job tasks.
Go back and reflect on those tough questions that you need to answer. The answers are what makes you you. Reframing your story can remake your confidence over and over again, but it takes time. It’s like running a marathon. You have to train and practice. When you learn to practice your story, tell it with assurance. You’re sure to stand out among all the candidates.
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4 .
 New big pack from Sierra Designs The latest pack from Sierra Designs is the Gigawatt 60L. The pack has an adjustable back system that fits back lengths from 40cm to 53cm. It’s made from durable 300D polyester. Features include a zipped top and side access, oversized side and front pockets. The Gigawatt 60L weighs 1.84kg and costs £130. sierradesigns.com |  Scarpa upgrades its Maestrale boots Maestrale Re-Made ski boots are made from Polymer taken from around three tons of leftover materials. Creating a Re-Made boot from Polymer emits 27% less carbon dioxide than creating a “classic” boot from plant-based Pebax Rnew, which emits 32% less carbon dioxide than Fossil-based Plastics. The design and manufacturing process behind the Re-Made boot were developed by Scarpa’s Green Lab, the production department dedicated to sustainable solutions. A pair costs £500. scarpa.co.uk / ellis-brigham.com |
 Vasque Breeze gets sustainable update The well-established Vasque Breeze hiking boot has been modernised with environmentally friendly materials. It’s now made with recycled polyester and is the first boot to have a VasqueDry Waterproof membrane, which is made from 25% recycled materials. The Breeze is also comfortable to wear with its soft footbed. The Breeze weighs 1120 grams and comes in two widths. It costs £140. vasque.com |  The North Face launches new ski touring clothing The Dawn Turn clothing provides a layering system for ski touring designed to keep you warm, dry and freely moving. It includes a shell jacket, midlayers, trousers and accessories. The Dawn Turn 2.0 jacket won the innovation award at ISPO for its breathable layer. The cost is £350. The Dawn Turn 1.0 Jacket is made from waterproof DryVent. It features a windproof hood and oversized front pockets, and costs £325. thenorthface.co.uk |
| A．The ski athletes | B．The outdoor lovers |
| C．The environmentalists | D．The sports retailers |
| A．Both kinds of boots mentioned in the passage have two different widths. |
| B．The latest big pack from Sierra Designs has a fixed back system. |
| C．The Vasque Breeze hiking boot is both eco-friendly and waterproof. |
| D．The Dawn Turn 1.0 Jacket won the innovation award at ISPO. |
| A．Polymer > Pebax Renew >Fossil-based Plastics |
| B．Fossil-based Plastics > Pebax Renew > Polymer |
| C．Fossil-based Plastics > Polymer >Pebax Renew |
| D．Polymer >Fossil-based Plastics >Pebax Renew |
| A．He isn’t going out now. |
| B．He doesn’t want to return the book. |
| C．The library is closing soon. |
| D．He can’t help the woman. |
6 . Catherine Garland, a physics professor, started seeing “the problem” in 2019. She’d laid out the assignment clearly during an engineering course, but student after student was calling her over for help. They were all getting the same error message: The program couldn’t find their files.
Garland thought it would be an easy fix. She asked each student where they had saved their project. “Could they be on the desktop? Perhaps in the Documents folder?” But over and over, she was met with confusion. “What are you talking about?” multiple students inquired. Gradually, Garland came to the realization: the concept of file folders and directories, essential to previous generations, understanding of computers, is gibberish to many modern students.
Garland’s mental model is commonly known as “directory structure”, the hierarchical system (层级体系) of folders used to arrange files. What have caused the mental model to change? It is possible that many students spent their high school years storing documents in the cloud storage like OneDrive and Dropbox rather than in physical spaces. It could also have to do with the other apps they’re accustomed to. “When I want to scroll (滚屏) over to Snapchat, Twitter, they’re not in any particular order, but I know exactly where they are,” says Vogel, who is a devoted iPhone user. Some of it boils down to muscle memory.
It may also be that in an age where every user interface includes a search function, young people have never needed folders or directories. The first internet search engines were used around 1990, but features like Windows Search are products of the early 2000s. While many of today’s professors grew up without search functions, today’s students increasingly don’t remember a world without them.
Some may blame the generational incompetence. An international study claimed that only 2 percent of Generation Z (born from 1997 onwards) had achieved the “digital native” level of computer literacy. But the issue is likely not that modern students are learning fewer digital skills, but rather that they’re learning different ones. Garland, for all her knowledge of directory structure, doesn’t understand Instagram nearly as well as her students do. “They use computers one way, and we use computers another way,” Garland emphasizes. “That’s where the problem lies.”
1. The word “gibberish” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to________.| A．common | B．accessible | C．nonsense | D．fundamental |
| A．There is no search function in the directory structure. |
| B．College professors have weaker muscles than students do. |
| C．Modern students like to store documents in physical drives. |
| D．The change in mental models reflects the progress in technology. |
| A．highlights the different mindsets of two generations |
| B．criticizes modern students’ overuse of online apps |
| C．shows the difficulty of teaching today’s students |
| D．calls on a change in the education of physics |
| A．Teaching students directory structure. |
| B．Improving generational understanding. |
| C．Enhancing Generation Z’s digital skills. |
| D．Urging teachers to learn search functions. |
