1 . How We Talk about Fear Matters

Lately, there seems to be plenty to fear in the world. How we talk about what we fear might offer clues to how we perceive that emotion socially and culturally.

Get the root of fear.

    1    . In Anglo Saxon times, “fear” primarily referred to sudden danger. The root of the word dates back to “pēr” from Indo-European about 6,000 years ago. This root suggests that fear developed from a sudden (frightening) experience you passed through.

Figure out the emotional meaning of fear.

Whether emotions are viewed positively or negatively varies from culture to culture.    2     . For instance, in English, the word “anxious” can be used to mean “worried” or “eager”. But the word meaning “anxious” just means “regret” in Dargwa. Therefore, many English speakers may not view anxiety as negatively as Dargwa speakers.

Find out a fearful pattern.

In looking at such patterns across the major language families, researchers found that the word “fear” was often associated with anxiety, envy and grief in Indo-European languages. But in Austronesian languages, “fear” more often was associated with surprise.     3     .

    4    

How we talk about fear changes how we react to it. When we talk about what frightens us, it may be useful to disrupt associated meanings. In addition, how our language categorizes an emotion seems to impact whether we perceive those emotions negatively or positively.

In conclusion, fear is something that can be changed by cultural and linguistic experience.    5     . Perhaps Roosevelt was right when he in famously said “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

A．Talk more about fears

B．Change our perception of fear

C．The word fear has a long history in English

D．There seemed a fearful pattern across the major language families

E．This is based on what people have learned to associate with emotion words

F．It opens the door to potential ways to change how we talk about and react to it

G．This makes speakers of the latter languages associate this emotion with a less negative sense

2 . We often think about relationships on a scale from positive to negative. We are drawn to loving family members, caring classmates and supportive mentors. We do our best to avoid the cruel uncle, the playground bully and the jerk boss.

But the most toxic relationships aren’t the purely negative ones. They’re the ones that are a mix of positive and negative. We often call them frenemies, supposed friends who sometimes help you and sometimes hurt you. But ifs not just friends. It’s the in-laws who volunteer to watch your kids but belittle your parenting. The manager who praises your work but denies you a promotion.

Everyone knows how relationships like that can tie your stomach into a knot. But groundbreaking research led by the psychologists Bert Uchino and Julianne Holt-Lunstad shows that ambivalent (矛盾情绪的) relationships can be damaging to your health — even more than purely negative relationships.

I had assumed that with a neighbor or a colleague, having some positive interactions was better than all negative interactions. But being cheered on by the same person who cuts you down doesn’t reduce the bad feelings; it increases them. And it’s not just in your head: It leaves a trace in your heart and your blood.

Even a single ambivalent interaction can cause harm. In one experiment, people gave impromptu speeches on controversial topics in front of a friend who offered feedback. The researchers had randomly assigned the friend to give ambivalent or negative comments. Receiving mixed feedback caused higher blood pressure than pure criticism. “I would have gone about the topic differently, but you’re doing fine” proved to be more distressing than “I totally disagree with everything you’ve said.”

The evidence that ambivalent relationships can be bad for us is strong, but the reasons can be harder to read — just like the relationships themselves.

The most intuitive reason is that ambivalent relationships are unpredictable. With a clear enemy, you put up a shield when you cross paths. With a frenemy, you never know whether Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde is going to show up. Feeling unsure can disrupt the body’s calming system and activate a fight-or-flight response. It’s unsettling to hope for a hug while also preparing for a likely quarrel.

Another factor is that unpleasant interactions are more painful in an ambivalent relationship. It’s more upsetting to be let down by people you like sometimes than by people you dislike all the time. When someone stabs you in the back, it stings more if he’s been friendly to your face.

1. Which of the following can be counted as a frenemy?

A．Your neighbour’s kid who advises you to study hard but idles away his own time.

B．Your classmate who admires your diligence at first, but doubts your intelligence later.

C．Your mother’s friend who encourages you to spend more time on homework but less on smart phones.

D．Your father’s colleague who proposes you to do a moderate amount of homework while ensuring adequate sleep.

2. Which of the following statements can be inferred from the passage?

A．Ambivalent relationships have a permanent effect on your well-being.

B．The common cause for high blood pressure is ambivalent relationship.

C．Ambivalent interactions will be more painful if it is done consciously.

D．The negative impact of ambivalent interactions is direct and strong.

3. The underlined word “belittle” in paragraph 2 probably means ______.

A．devalue

B．appreciate

C．respect

D．abuse

4. Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A．Some Negative Relationships Are Bad for Your Health

B．Your Most Ambivalent Relationships Are the Most Toxic

C．The Reasons for Ambivalent Relationships Are Unpredictable

D．Some Positive Relationships Are Better than All Negative Ones

3 . With a two-year-old behind me and fliers in my hand, I knocked on another door in my neighborhood. I had volunteered to spread the _______ about some changes at the local primary school, so I was excited to see a _______ with a baby in her arm and a preschooler tightly wrapped around her leg.

Within seconds, I realized I needed to _______ my rusty Spanish to connect with this mom. That initial conversation explained the lonely, desperate look in her eyes. I wrote my phone number on the flier and told her to _______ if she ever wanted to walk to the park with the kids.

I hadn’t _______ much about Maria until a month later when she called. Many walks around the neighborhood later, I _______ more details about her life that offered me some viewpoints about my own.

One day I sat at Maria’s kitchen table and shared some of my own family’s _______. Her eyes got big, saying “I thought I was the only one with problems.” I thought my stress was _______, but from her viewpoint, my life seemed to be a pretty package from the outside. By _______ the details of my life, I was able to give her the same gift of viewpoints she had been giving me.

Friendship can be discovered in unexpected places, as long as we find common ground with those who ________ might seem different.

1.

A．cost

B．word

C．classroom

D．workload

2.

A．babysitter

B．friend

C．mother

D．schoolmate

3.

A．speak of

B．pull out

C．deal with

D．give up

4.

A．leave

B．visit

C．watch

D．call

5.

A．thought

B．doubted

C．promised

D．complained

6.

A．predicted

B．learned

C．repeated

D．assessed

7.

A．progress

B．efforts

C．research

D．struggles

8.

A．emotional

B．low

C．obvious

D．false

9.

A．checking

B．recording

C．sharing

D．refreshing

10.

A．initially

B．easily

C．quietly

D．consequently

4 . Nowadays, people are increasingly interacting with others in social media environments where algorithms control the flow of social information they see. People’s interactions with online algorithms may affect how they learn from others, with negative consequences including social misperceptions, conflict and the spread of misinformation.

On social media platforms, algorithms are mainly designed to amplify (放大) information that sustains engagement, meaning they keep people clicking on content and coming back to the platforms. There is evidence suggesting that a side effect of this design is that algorithms amplify information people are strongly biased (偏向的) to learn from. We call this information “PRIME”, for prestigious, in-group, moral and emotional information.

In our evolutionary past, biases to learn from PRIME information were very advantageous: Learning from prestigious individuals is efficient because these people are successful and their behavior can be copied. Paying attention to people who violate moral norms is important because punishing them helps the community maintain cooperation. But what happens when PRIME information becomes amplified by algorithms and some people exploit (利用) algorithm amplification to promote themselves? Prestige becomes a poor signal of success because people can fake prestige on social media. News become filled with negative and moral information so that there is conflict rather than cooperation.

The interaction of human psychology and algorithm amplification leads to disfunction because social learning supports cooperation and problem-solving, but social media algorithms are designed to increase engagement. We call it functional mismatch. One of the key outcomes of functional mismatch is that people start to form incorrect perceptions of their social world, which often occurs in the field of politics. Recent research suggests that when algorithms selectively amplify more extreme political views, people begin to think that their political in-group and out-group are more sharply divided than they really are. Such “false polarization” might be an important source of greater political conflict.

So what’s next? A key question is what can be done to make algorithms facilitate accurate human social learning rather than exploit social learning biases. Some research team is working on new algorithm designs that increase engagement while also punishing PRIME information. This may maintain user activity that social media platforms seek, but also make people’s social perceptions more accurate.

1. What are social media algorithms targeted at?

A．Improving social environment.	B．Generating PRIME information.
C．Avoiding side effects of social media.	D．Raising the media platform click rate.

2. Why does the author refer to “false polarization” in paragraph 4?

A．To make an assumption.	B．To illustrate a conclusion.
C．To explain a political issue.	D．To present an extreme case.

3. According to the author, algorithms will be improved so as to ________.

A．boost engagement and regulate amplification

B．strengthen social learning and delete biases

C．identify biases and punish PRIME information

D．monitor media platforms and guarantee users’ privacy

4. What is the best title of the text?

A．PRIME information meets with misperceptions

B．Algorithms control the flow of social information

C．Social media algorithms twist human social learning

D．Online algorithm designs face unexpected challenges

5 . If you’ve ever worried that we’ve solved all the mysteries of nature, fear not. Minnesota’s Devil’s Kettle Falls has been attracting hikers and geologists for generations. At the falls, along Lake Superior’s North shore, a river forks at a rock outcrop. While one side runs down a two-step stone bank and continues on like a normal waterfall, the other side vanishes into a deep hole and disappears apparently forever.

And this baffling situation only gets strange when geologists start explaining Devil’s Kettle. Consider, for instance, the sheer quantity of water pouring into the kettle every minute of every day. While the idea of some kind of broad, underground river is an exciting device in movies, the reality is that those sorts of deep caves are rare.

Another idea is that millions of years ago, a hollow lava tube may have formed beneath the falls, in the subsurface layer of basalt (玄武岩) . Over time, the theory suggests, the falling water eroded (侵蚀) the surface and fell straight down into the ancient lava tube, providing wide-open access to the floor of Lake Superior. Again, there are problems with this theory, because no lava tubes have ever been found in any of the hundreds of exposed basalt beds in the area.

In February 2017, scientists said that water that disappears into the rock at Devil’s Kettle resurges in the stream below the falls. To confirm the theory, scientists plan on conducting a dye trace during a low-water flow period. They’ll pour a vegetable-based dye into the pothole and watch where the dye resurfaces. This is a fluorescent (发荧光的) , biodegradable dye that’s noticeable at 10 parts per billion, so the scientists will use only a few quarts.

“What we think is happening is the water is going in the kettle, and coming up pretty close to immediately downstream of the falls,” Green said.

Green admits that if the dye is found below the falls like the scientists suspect, then much of the Devil’s Kettle Falls mystery will be gone. “There’s a little bit of that,” he said, “that folks aren’t going to stand there and wonder. But it will still be a fascinating spot, and a beautiful spot.”

1. What is the purpose of writing the first paragraph?

A．To explain the formation of waterfalls.

B．To introduce a mysterious natural phenomenon.

C．To describe a beautiful landscape scene.

D．To recommend an unusual waterfall to readers.

2. What does the underlined word “baffling” mean?

A．Astonishing.

B．Interesting.

C．Puzzling.

D．Challenging.

3. What can we infer from the 2017 theory?

A．It hasn’t been proved yet.	B．It is considered ridiculous.
C．It is deeply doubted.	D．It is supported fully in evidence.

4. What is the most suitable title for the text?

A．The exploration of Devil’s Kettle Falls

B．The disappearance of Devil’s Kettle Falls

C．The truth behind Devil’s Kettle Falls

D．The mystery of Devil’s Kettle Falls

6 . 阅读下面短文，根据题目要求回答问题。

Doctors in Bristol can send patients on a free course from this month, which uses stand-up comedy to help patients overcome their trauma (创伤). The course was pioneered by Angie Belcher, a comedian at the University of Bristol.

Comedy is a natural human trait (特质). Every night we come back home from work and tell our family what our day was like, but on the way home we’ll make up details, and try to make our stories funnier to entertain family members. Professional comedy education is to give a tool to take this to a more polished and informed level. The content of the six-week course is described as a “combination of psychology, comedy and storytelling.”

Actually, past traumas are perfect for comedy. Comedy doesn’t come from the happy moments of our life, but from our everyday struggles. People, who’ve been through big life experiences, such as the loss of a close friend or ill health, often can’t wait to share their stories, mostly because there’s always something funny about the situation. We can accept and honor the comedy of a situation, as much as the sadness of it.

While the comedy course can’t take the place of traditional clinical approaches, talking about our trauma in a funny way is quite lovely, and more importantly, it has a chain reaction on our audience, and we help other people to deal with their sadness. When we bring our stories alive for others, it makes other people feel less alone. Having our experiences mirrored back to us is hugely comforting. Comedy builds community.

1. Who was the course pioneered by?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the content of the course?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Please underline the false part in the following statement and explain why.
Comedy comes from our everyday struggles, and from the happy moments of our life as well.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
4. If you meet a trauma, would you like to take the comedy course? Why?
(In about 40 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . Chris Smith looked like any other young boy in his class: thick hair, a wide smile, and playing sports. By all appearances, life for Chris was the same as it was for a hundred other boys in the small town where he grew up, except for the constant evictions (驱赶), and eventually being homeless.

Chris’ father was reckless (鲁莽的) with finances and dishonest in business. His mother tried her best to run the home until Chris’ little brother drowned (溺亡), then his father went to prison, and finally the family fell apart.

“My mom shut down emotionally. Everything got worse,” Chris remembers. Then she was gone and ran away from home without telling Chris. He did the best he could, sleeping on his newly married sister’s sofa. “They didn’t have much money, and I know it was a burden to take me in at 17 years old, I was going to drop out from high school and make it on my own.”

But Chris’ history teacher had different ideas. When Chris’ study began to go down, she cornered him. “You’re the smartest kid in the class,” she told him. “If you don’t graduate, you’re going to regret it.”

“School was my safe place,” Chris says. School also offered him heat and food. It became the closest thing to home he could find, compared to his father’s old truck that became his bed and his study space. He remembers his hair freezing onto the window in the winter.

When graduation came, Chris earned a full scholarship to college and graduated in the top 10 of his class. When it’s time to apply for medical residencies, Chris set his sights high. He applied for residencies around the country and included the No. 1 program in the nation: Johns Hopkins. And then the letter came. Chris was in.

“I didn’t really think I had a chance. But I had learned to give everything my best shot. Life is never fair. But if you don’t give up, you will give yourself a better chance to make it,” Chris says.

1. Why did Chris’ mother leave home?

A．Because of failure in business.	B．Because of financial restrictions.
C．Because of her husband’s dishonesty.	D．Because of heartbroken family events.

2. How’s Chris’ life and study during senior high school?

A．Lazy and average.	B．Comfortable and carefree.
C．Tough and hardworking.	D．Happy and undemanding.

3. What s Chris’ philosophy?

A．Never lose heart.	B．Always be well-prepared.
C．Never judge a book by its cover.	D．Always be humble and cautious.

4. Which of the following can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Doing Is Better than Saying	B．There Is No End to Learning
C．From Homeless to Medical Resident	D．Great Hopes Make Great Man

8 . 阅读短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

My time was my own after the afternoon board, Saturdays, and I was accustomed to putting it in on a little sail-boat on the bay. One day I ventured too far, and     1     (carry) out to sea. Just at nightfall, when hope was about gone, I was picked up by a small boat which was bound for London. It was a long and     2     (storm) voyage, and they made me work my passage without pay, as a common sailor. When I stepped ashore in London my clothes were ragged and shabby, and I had only a dollar in my pocket. This money     3     (feed) and sheltered me twenty-four hours. During the next twenty-four I went without food and shelter.

9 . 阅读短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

The most impressive class Joe has ever had is the English literature class about Charlotte’s Web last semester.

    1     struck him most was the teacher’s passion for literature. Her plot explanation, character analysis and theme extraction helped him see the novel in a new light. Apart from her in-depth exploration, she also involved the students in a discussion,     2     (encourage) them to share and comment. Joe was amazed at how engaged he was and how much he learned. He even left the class feeling     3     (motivate) to major in literature in future.

10 . A nine-year-old boy has set a new 5km parkrun world record for his age group. Louis Robinett, a member of the Poole Runners junior athletics club, shaved 13 seconds off the previous world record, which was set in California in 2017, after he crossed the line in 17 minutes and 40 seconds.

Louis, who broke the record at the Poole parkrun in Dorset on Saturday, said, “I’m on top of the world right now. It’s a huge deal to break a world record. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family and the team at Poole Runners.”

Louis was accompanied on the parkrun by Dion Garner, a member of his athletics club, as all under-11s in the 5km event must run within arm’s length of an adult. Garner said of Louis’s achievement, “His natural talent, combined with his dedication and spirit, is mind-blowing. He loves the sports and has really practiced a lot.” A spokesman for Poole Runners said, “With his new world record, Louis has raised the bar for young athletes everywhere. This isn’t just a win for Louis, it’s a new benchmark (标准) for youth sports, inspiring children all over the world to aim higher.”

Parkrun was started by 13 friends as a weekly event in Bushy Park, southwest London, in 2004. By 2015 more than 80,000 people were gathering in parks around the world each Saturday to participate in a parkrun. Only three years later about a quarter of a million people were taking part in parkruns each week, in 1,500 events spread across 20 countries. In comparison, 48,000 runners took part in the London Marathon this year.

1. What is the previous 5km parkrun world record?

A．17 minutes and 27 seconds.	B．17 minutes and 23 seconds.
C．17 minutes and 40 seconds.	D．17 minutes and 53 seconds.

2. How was Louis after breaking the world record?

A．Surprised and thankful.	B．Modest and satisfied.
C．Grateful and proud.	D．Thrilled and shocked.

3. What does the underlined word “dedication” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Effort.

B．Persistence.

C．Determination.

D．Strength.

4. What can we know from Paragraph 4?

A．Parkrun is ancient but increasingly popular.	B．Standards are needed to make parkrun formal.
C．Parkrun originates from pals’ run during the week.	D．Over 20 countries are competing to host a parkrun.