1 . People may typically think of memory as the recollection of the past. Memory enables people to learn from past experiences and apply that knowledge in present cases. It is an important part of our identity. So is culture, the way of life specific to a group of people.
Cultural memory is the constructed understanding of the past that is passed from one generation to the next through text, oral traditions, monuments and other symbols. Cultural memory is often amassed in objects, such as museums or historical monuments. To understand culture, humans access a mass of cultural symbols, such as books. Artifacts (历史文物) of the past provide insights into where we came from. Libraries and the Internet keep a seemingly boundless amount of data on what it means to be part of a culture. Cultural memory is the longest-lasting form of memory.
Like all forms of memory, cultural memory has important functions. For example, it makes the experiences a nation owns clear. It provides us with an understanding of the past and the values of the group to which we belong. Besides, it creates a form of shared identity and a means for communicating this identity to new members. The most powerful forms of cultural memory may involve memories of past disastrous experiences undergone by groups of victims. For example, in Russia, their role in World War II —in which tens of millions of Russians were killed — is still an important part of modern Russian identity. Because all groups have cultural memory, it can bring about a spirit of resistance or survival among threatened groups.
The main function of cultural memory is not to recall the past, whether it is good or bad. Rather, it is to use knowledge of past experiences to avoid making the same mistakes again and again. Aleida Assmann, a professor who has worked on memory theory since the 1960s, calls this “remembering forward”. Cultural memory enables people to adapt to their culture; it enables cultures to adapt to new circumstances by keeping traces (痕迹) of what worked in the past.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．Reporting a discovery of cultural memory. |
| B．Leading to the concept of cultural memory. |
| C．Introducing the importance of memory in identity. |
| D．Making a connection between memory and culture. |
| A．Stored. | B．Ignored. | C．Damaged. | D．Created. |
| A．the features of cultural memory | B．the formation of cultural memory |
| C．the role of big events in Russian identity | D．the impact of cultural memory on identity |
| A．Pass previous wisdom down. | B．Keep traces of history. |
| C．Get people to know about the past. | D．Remind people of their identity. |
2 . Childhood can bring a lot of awe (敬畏). Research also suggests that awe is important in promoting well-being beyond our individual lives — it can encourage our children to care for others.
A recent study by researchers Eftychia Stamkou, Keltner, and their colleagues invited children aged 8-13 to take part in an experiment. In the awe group, children were offered a short part of a movie that features a child transformed into a seal (海豹) and exploring the sea while in the joy group, children were offered a short part of another movie where friends were celebrating.
Researchers measured children’s kindness toward poor families by inviting children to support their food drive by spending as much time as they wanted in counting donated things, to make sure the poor got access to the donated food as quickly as possible. They also invited children to donate the reward they earned from taking part in the research (e.g., a snack or a museum ticket) to a poor family.
The results? Children who watched the awe-inspiring video spent more time counting food donations and donated their rewards to poor families more often compared to the children who watched the joy-inspiring video. These findings highlight that awe-inspiring art can motivate children to be sympathetic toward people who have been forcibly displaced (离开家园) from their countries of origin.
As parents, we can also seek out everyday experiences of awe in our communities to share with our children, like wall paintings of the city scenery and folk art. Awe can be inspired by music, like the harmonious sounds of a wooden guitar and the beat of a drum. Awesome architecture, like symphony halls, museums, and even features like staircases, can be a way to experience awe with our children.
1. What does the research find?| A．Awe should be inspired early. | B．Awe helps kids be more generous. |
| C．Individual lives affect kids’ health. | D．Training awe gives kids excitement. |
| A．They watched different movies. | B．They commented on the videos. |
| C．They were asked some questions. | D．They donated money to poor families. |
| A．They learned this from a video. | B．They were motivated by the movie. |
| C．They liked to contribute to charity. | D．They were reminded by the homeless. |
| A．Give reasons for feeling awe. | B．List experiences of awe. |
| C．Show benefits of awe to kids. | D．Appeal for developing awe in kids. |
3 . ACL 500 Word Story Competition
We are pleased to announce the launch of the ACL 500 Word Story Competition. This time the theme is “Awakening”. We’re looking for our community to pen a story that quickly catches our attention and tells a great tale. You can submit (提交) an entry as an individual achievement or as a team effort — we want to read both kinds! Our judges will include a range of our experienced instructors, staff and local Essex Author Sarah Armstrong.
Sarah Armstrong is the author of three novels, most recently The Wolves of Leninsky Prospekt and The Starlings of Bucharest, the first and second in the Moscow Wolves series. She is also the author of A Summer of Spying, a book mainly about her own experience. Sarah teaches undergraduate and postgraduate creative writing with The Open University, and lives in Essex with her husband and four children.
Rules:◆ Your story can be a poem, an essay or any other kinds of writing.
◆ Entries will need to be in a Word format. PDF files are unacceptable.
◆ Please ensure your story is suitable for all to read.
◆ Use the given submission form to submit your details and story. The deadline for submissions is 12th April.
Benefits:
◆ Prizes include a book voucher (代金券), a short creative writing course, and your work published.
◆ Discover new and exciting skills at writing while exploring your creative writing and sharing inspirational moments with others. We have a fantastic range of Creative Writing courses for you to choose from.
1. What do we know about the competition?
| A．It’s organized in honor of Sarah Armstrong. |
| B．It looks for both individual and group works. |
| C．It aims to awaken an interest in writing. |
| D．It’s targeted at undergraduates and postgraduates. |
| A．They should be submitted as a Word file. | B．They must be poems or essays. |
| C．They must be based on personal experience. | D．They should be about life in Essex. |
| A．A voucher for a course. | B．An expert training class by Sarah. |
| C．A vast range of courses. | D．An improvement to writing skills. |
4 . It is a well-known fact that not all animals have the ability to instantly recognize themselves in the mirror. However, a few animals can recognize themselves, such as dolphins, Asian elephants, and of course humans! A species of fish with the ability to recognize itself in the mirror is commonly known as the cleaner fish.
Found in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, cleaner fish exist as “cleaning stations” for other fish (known as hosts). They “clean” the dead skin and parasites (寄生虫) from other fish. This is of benefit for cleaner fish, which get a meal, as well as for the other fish species, which are freed from parasites. Such a type of relationship is known as mutualism.
Recently, a group of scientists in Japan found that cleaner fish might have the ability to identify (识别) themselves in photographs! It was already known that cleaner fish could recognize themselves in mirrors and would attack unknown cleaner fish. So, the team wanted to test whether the same was seen in the case of photos as well.
Thus, the team of scientists showed four types of photos to the cleaner fish. The first type was a photo of themselves, while the second involved an unknown cleaner fish. The third type of picture was a photo of an unknown cleaner fish with the fish’s own face edited onto it. The fourth type of photo included its own body but with the face of an unknown cleaner fish.
They found that cleaner fish attacked only those photographs which did not have their own faces. This result was similar to the ability of humans to recognize each other based on their faces and not by their bodies.
This study suggests that self-awareness may be far more widespread among animals than scientists once thought. People shouldn’t be surprised that fish could have a sense of self given that they have already been shown to have complex behavior including tool use and planning.
1. What does the underlined word “mutualism” probably mean in paragraph 2?| A．A host-parasite relationship. | B．A master-servant relationship. |
| C．Dependence on each other. | D．Beneficial cleaning behavior. |
| A．They can identify themselves in the mirror. |
| B．They can recognize themselves in the images. |
| C．They have the same sense of self as humans. |
| D．They have a better sense of self than some animals. |
| A．The first and second types. | B．The second and fourth types. |
| C．The first and third types. | D．The second and third types. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Doubtful. | C．Supportive. | D．Unconcerned. |
5 . Explore more in Thailand’s parts unknown
Thailand’s southern beaches attract travelers worldwide, but there’s more to explore in the Southeast Asian country.
Ban Krut for beach fans
In Ban Krut, travelers will find one of the cleanest and quietest white sandy beaches within driving distance of the capital, Bangkok. This sleepy seaside community, known mostly by locals, is a five-hour drive or six-hour train trip down the Gulf of Thailand. Don’t miss the great Wat Tang Sai, a Buddhist temple located on Thong Chai Mountain.
Lopburi for history lovers
Lopburi, one of Thailand’s oldest cities, is home to Khmer-era temples and the uncrowded ruins of King Narai’s Palace, which was built in the 1600s. It’s also known for the monkeys that gather at Phra Prang Sam Yot temple in the center of town. A tip: Keep a safe distance from the monkeys and hide anything you don’t want them to steal.
Cave (洞穴) for holiday hikers
Hiking trails, wetlands and forests make Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park a weekend adventure worthy of topping your Thailand to-do list. The park’s crown jewel is the amazing Phraya Nakhon Cave. Outdoorsy travelers can camp in a park or choose better rooms in the nearby tourist town of Hua Hin.
Car rental costs about $20 per day, and an international driver’s permit is required. You can also hire a driver at most major car rental companies, book a taxi or explore by train.
1. What do we know about Ban Krut?| A．It is a crowded tourist destination. |
| B．It is where Wat Tang Sai is located. |
| C．It is the cleanest and quietest beach. |
| D．It is known to the people nationwide. |
| A．They might stare at you curiously. |
| B．They might suddenly hide themselves. |
| C．They might offer you a friendly wave. |
| D．They might take away your belongings. |
| A．The Thong Chai Mountain. |
| B．The tourist town of Hua Hin. |
| C．The Phra Prang Sam Yot temple. |
| D．Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park. |
6 . Some of us like to keep some things private — maybe we don’t want people knowing about our relationship, our age or where we live — because these details are personal. The problem is, everywhere we go online, we seem to leave a digital footprint.
On our social media accounts, we often present things like our opinions, connections and holiday photos. The issue is, how do we stop everybody seeing everything? Maybe we don’t want a stranger knowing our favourite type of coffee. And cookies — there was a time they were just something nice to eat. Now they seem to appear unexpectedly on websites. So how can you stay more private?
There are some steps you can take. First, on your social media accounts, check your privacy settings. Many social media sites allow everything to be seen by default (默认), and the responsibility is on you to set your boundaries. And limiting the amount you share isn’t only confined (局限于) to social media. There are many sites out there that help you to share documents — so a good tip may be to not put anything too private, like passwords, on there. One careless click may send it to the wrong person.
Finally, cookies are designed to improve your surfing experience by tracking and saving information about your visits to a site, helping to personalise your sessions. Deleting (删除) your using history may help, but there are certain apps which can block them if you don’t feel comfortable.
So, if you want to maintain your privacy online, maybe only share things you’d be happy with a stranger seeing — and if you don’t feel comfortable with cookies, you might decide to apply some tech to block them. If that’s not enough, just don’t accept them and visit another site — and why not have a yummy cookie to eat instead?
1. What is the article aimed at?| A．Reminding you to update information. |
| B．Advising you to maintain privacy online. |
| C．Encouraging you to live a simple digital life. |
| D．Warning you to delete social media accounts. |
| A．To increase the number of followers. |
| B．To block all the cookies from tracking. |
| C．To limit the amount of information shared. |
| D．To prevent strangers from viewing using history. |
| A．Disable some social media sites. |
| B．Share passwords with familiar ones. |
| C．Store documents on public sites. |
| D．Use suitable apps to block cookies. |
| A．Concerns for personal privacy. | B．Recommendation of private apps. |
| C．Suggestions for protecting privacy. | D．Application of high technologies. |
1. 分析保护的必要性；
2. 提出保护措施。
注意：
1. 写作词数应为80词左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，使行文连贯。
Let’s join forces to protect our planet’s _________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I was surprised to find that the busy traffic lines outside Layla’s primary school had remarkably disappeared—I easily found a parking space and, for once, I was on time. The school bell rang, and a group of children merrily made their way through the gate. However, something was different—the children were all squeezing (挤进) into cars in groups of three or four.
Before I could ask my daughter Layla, Mr. Trent, the head teacher, approached me. “Mrs. Pavis, didn’t you see our letter?” Letter? What letter? I had a habit of not paying attention to them and, in most cases, not reading them. “The letter? Of course. I didn’t notice that. I’ve been away for work.”
Now, at home, I examined through Layla’s messy school bag. Eventually, I found several letters, all about the problem of parking outside the school gates. Obviously, due to some parents parking improperly, the police were about to step in. “Why didn’t you give me these letters?” I demanded. Layla raised her shoulders. “I forgot.” I was about to give her a lecture when it occurred to me that I had always forgotten—I had forgotten to give Layla her money for the cooking class that morning and forgotten to hang out the kids’ washed clothes.
I calmed down and realized that they wanted parents to carpool (拼车). Over the next half hour, I called the parents of Layla’s friends, asking if they would like to carpool with us. Unfortunately, they had already made arrangements. It was my own fault—I should have read those letters long ago. “Um... I overheard others talking about it,” Layla said, “They said they didn’t know who would carpool with us because we’re always late.” I suddenly felt sorry. We were a disorganized family.
注意：1. 续写词数应为100词左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I made up my mind to change.
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