俗话说：与其诅咒黑暗，不如点亮光明。（It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness），结合你自己或者身边人的一个事例，谈谈你对这句话的理解。
2 . It was one of those moments every new parent dreads (恐惧). My baby son was screaming as if I’d just dipped him in a bucket (桶) of battery acid. It felt as if he’d been screaming like that for years, though he was only two months old. Even worse, this was happening in public— I was sitting with my howling baby in the food court of a Los Angeles mall, despairing (绝望) as other diners silently judged me while watching us over plates of food.
Until, that is, one woman— a complete stranger— did something and taught me a lesson about kindness that lingers to this day. She walked over to me and put her hand on my shoulder. “This won’t last forever,” she said. “I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but things will get better. He’ll stop crying. You’ll get some sleep.”
It was such a small thing, a tiny kindness, really, but it made all the difference. It was 2001 and I was living in a foreign city with a newborn, without friends or family, and I was terribly lonely. This woman had seen me, if only for a moment, and taken the time to make a human connection. It was just a minute out of her day, but it has stayed with me for nearly two decades.
We all want to be better in the world and more giving to others. But we can easily get hung up on the sheer (完全的) importance of that challenge— making time to regularly volunteer or finding money to donate to a cause. Doing good doesn’t have to be an important task, though; it can be incremental (递增的). It can be as quick as a smile, a word, a phone call, an email. It can be the note you send to a friend who is feeling blue or the baby carriage you help carry down the subway stairs for a parent on their own, even though you’re late for work.
I’m reminded of a line from Brian Goldman’s bestseller, The Power of Kindness: “The opposite meaning of empathy is apathy (冷漠).” That is, the opposite of doing good isn’t doing harm; it’s doing nothing. Every tiny act of generosity— every door held open, every coffee bought for a stranger— builds a bridge to another person. It says, “I see you.” Today, when we spend most of our time looking at our phones, and not at people’s faces, that’s invaluable.
So, while I’m not particularly good at regularly volunteering or running marathons to raise money for charity, I’m committed to small gestures. I try to send a note of praise every day to someone whose work I admire. I’ve become phone friends with a lonely 87-year-old woman who contacted me about something I wrote, and who lives in a city far from her own children and grandchildren. On airplanes, I find the new parents with panicked eyes and offer to hold their babies. I remember what it felt like when the screaming baby was mine. I remember when a tiny kindness felt monumental, enough to change the world.
1. Why did the author mention her baby son’s crying in Paragraph 1?| A．To create a disappointing atmosphere. | B．To prove her opinion. |
| C．To show her helplessness. | D．To introduce the topic. |
| A．Always trying to do important deeds. | B．Being short of time. |
| C．Being lacking in money. | D．Keeping looking at their phones. |
| A．doing harm to others is better than doing nothing |
| B．people are supposed to pay more attention to others’ faces |
| C．every small gesture counts in connecting people |
| D．spending most of our time looking at our phones is invaluable |
| A．The Kind Strangers | B．The Small Mercies |
| C．The Power of Words | D．The Power of Kindness |
3 . Lapland's reindeer (驯鹿) grow well in winters of -30℃ and even colder. So when rain falls instead of snow during the coldest months in the Arctic,it makes food hard to get for them. Now one of the best-loved symbols of Christmas is probably dying out. Numbers have fallen by over half in the last two decades as the place warms at four times the global average rate.
The animals are used to pull sleigh (雪橇) rides for tourists. The rides are part of Lapland winter wonderland experiences in thousands of British tourists each year. But this year the working herd had to be moved 60 miles further north due to the absence of snow. As a result, they can't be provided in some areas, making it hard for people to earn a living.
Lapland is often described as Europe's last great wilderness, home to lynxes, brown bears, wolverines and golden eagles. Tourism is a big part of the economy, and the town of Rovaniemi is also the "official home of Santa Claus". But changing climate (气候) is threatening its tourism industry. A report by The Finnish Climate Change Panel warns of flooding and increased rainfall, with Rovaniemi most at risk. Firms that rely on snow "will have great effects on visit levels" and these industries may be forced further north.
Erkkila of the Arctic Husky Park in Rovaniemi says: "Tourists see pictures of the Santa Claus village covered in snow and when they get here they think, 'Is this the winter wonderland?'." The Husky Park bought a wheeled cart (车) six years ago as a replacement for sleigh rides when the snow fails.
In the past it was thought the Arctic was warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. But a report published last week by scientists showed the rate is actually four times the global average.
1. What causes the drop in Lapland's reindeer population?| A．Cold winter. | B．Polluted habitats. |
| C．Heavy snow. | D．Rising temperatures. |
| A．Rides. | B．Animals. | C．Experiences. | D．Tourists. |
| A．Lapland is home to various wildlife. |
| B．Increased rainfall threatens Rovaniemi. |
| C．Rovaniemi is official home of Santa Claus. |
| D．Changing climate affects Lapland's tourism. |
| A．They feel excited. | B．They are disappointed. |
| C．They enjoy themselves. | D．They prefer wheeled carts. |
4 . Recent research discovered that a low-cost computer training program can help older persons drive less dangerously.
“We developed a training program, called Drive Aware, which could be used by anyone who has a computer,” says Jing Feng, co-author of the study and a professor of psychology at NC State. “Drive Aware is a cognitive (认知的) training program for older persons that helps them notice traffic risks more effectively. The purpose of our recent study was to see how much Drive Aware changes trainees’ driving behaviors once they get behind the wheel.”
The researchers found 27 persons aged 65 and up to test Drive Aware. In a driving simulator (模拟器), all of the study participants (参与者) experienced a basic driving exam. The “active training” group was made up of nine of the study participants. Every two weeks, the active training group had two Drive Aware trainings. A group of nine additional study participants was asked to take “passive training”. This group watched videos of others receiving the Drive Aware instruction. This happened twice, with each lasting about a week. The control group, which was made up of the remaining nine study participants, received no training. After that, all 27 study participants performed a second driving exam in the simulator.
The study participants in the active training group experienced 25% fewer “unsafe incidents (事件)” following the training, according to the researchers. There was no obvious change in the number of dangerous incidents among study participants in the passive training and control groups.
“This testing was done with a fairly limited number of study participants,” Feng says. “If we can succeed in getting the fund, we’d like to further our testing with more people to clearly prove how effective this training is at reducing accidents among older drivers.”
1. What does the underlined phrase “get behind the wheel” in paragraph 2 mean?| A．Take a risk. | B．Start a program. |
| C．Drive a car. | D．Use a computer. |
| A．Experience no training. | B．Receive two Drive Aware trainings. |
| C．Take three driving tests. | D．Observe videos of Drive Aware trainings. |
| A．By quoting former figures. | B．By investigating car accidents. |
| C．By operating the driving simulator. | D．By comparing participants’ performances. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Worried. | C．Positive. | D．Doubtful. |
5 . Future history books might record that we were robbed of the use of our eyes. In our hurry to get from one place to another, we fail to see anything on the way. Air travel gives you a bird’s—eye view of the world—— or even less if the wing of the aircraft happens to get in your way. When you travel by car or train, you are moving so quickly that you do not see the countryside clearly. Car drivers are forever thinking about going on and on; they never want to stop. Is it the great motorways, that attract them, or what? And as for sea travel, it hardly deserves mention. It is perfectly summed up in the words of the old song, “I joined the navy to see the world, and what did I see? I saw the sea.” You mention the place names in the world like EI Dorado, Kabul and someone is sure to say “I’ve been there” meaning “I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else.”
When you travel at high speed, the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other places. But actual arrival, when it is achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on again. By traveling like this, you suspend (中止) all experience; the present stops being a reality: you might just as well be dead.
The traveler on foot, on the other hand, lives constantly in the present. For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes. He experiences the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body. At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical tiredness. Satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travelers.
1. The underlined words “get in your way” in Paragraph 1 can be replaced by ________| A．prevent you from going out of the plane halfway | B．expand your range of vision |
| C．block your sights | D．make your travel continue |
| A．They fail to see the scenery with their hearts. |
| B．They make full use of their eyes. |
| C．They get a good view of the landscape. |
| D．They are eager to see everything on the way. |
| A．Because we change our aims all the time. |
| B．Because we cannot enjoy the experience we have had. |
| C．Because we are looking forward to the future life. |
| D．Because we are eager to go to another place. |
| A．To go hiking in the mountain. |
| B．To travel at high speed. |
| C．To travel by car or train. |
| D．To go around the world. |
| A．Different Travelers | B．True Traveling |
| C．Ways of Traveling | D．The Use of Eyes |
—This is a busy crossroad. You ______ be too careful when crossing the street.
| A．may not | B．needn’t | C．mustn’t | D．cannot |
— I find it interesting and challenging. It is a subject ________ sometimes you may find yourself having conversations with your ancestors.
| A．where | B．which | C．when | D．that |
| A．At the woman's home. | B．In a clothing shop. | C．In a shoe shop. |
9 . Like the rest of us, scientists have long suspected the healing capacity (修复能力) of a good hug. Unlike the rest of us, they’ve gone about trying to prove it.
“Laboratory studies suggest that things like hugs help us feel safer. They can also make us less sensitive to physical pain and less reactive when we’re faced with threatening experiences,” says Michael Murphy. He is a research professor in the department of psychological sciences at Texas Tech University. “This lab work has shown that hugs and other touch behavior are related to stress. The more stress we have, the more our heart rates and blood pressure go up. At this time, hugs and other forms of personal touch may give off all sorts of feel-good chemicals, so that stress can be reduced.”
“There’s a lot that we still need to learn, and there’s a lot we don’t know,” Murphy says. “However, what seems to be rising up is that hugs, as well as other forms of loving and gentle touch, are really powerful. They remind people that they’ re cared about and that they have someone in their corner.”
We expect touch. When we were born, we were placed in our mothers’ arms almost immediately. In that first year of our life, we spend a lot of time being held by other people. And as we grow up, we seek out hugs and touch as a way of connection. I think what we have lost in the past few years are these really easy opportunities to be reminded of connection.”
While he was at Carnegie Mellon, Murphy was the lead author of a hug-centered 2018 article in the scientific journal PLOS One. In a series of interviews with 404 adults over a two-week period, the researchers found that receiving a hug is associated with the attenuation of negative emotions that occur on days with interpersonal conflicts. That is to say, generally, hugs help to reduce the negative impacts that personal conflicts may cause in our daily lives.
1. What can we infer about hugs from the laboratory studies?| A．They show people’s good social relationships. |
| B．They can cure us of our mental disease. |
| C．They can put much pressure on people. |
| D．They make us feel calm and at ease. |
| A．To recall childhood memories. |
| B．To keep connected with others. |
| C．To solve relationship problems. |
| D．To express their social politeness. |
| A．Expression. | B．Influence. |
| C．Suffering. | D．Reduction. |
| A．The Power of Hugs |
| B．How to Reduce Stress |
| C．How to Care for Others |
| D．The Importance of Interpersonal Relations |
10 . Some high school students think it useless to receive higher education. Therefore, they choose not to go to college. If you're one of them, think again. Here are some reasons why you should go to college and receive a good education there.
Schools and universities are the first places to get knowledge. We take that knowledge later on to build our careers after graduation. More knowledge will be gained after you start working, but without education, that job will not be within easy reach. Knowledge leads to knowledge.
While limited within the walls of the educational places, we openly explore other cultures of the world! We come to know that ours is not the only culture. Other cultures have valuable things to share, enriching our own. Education also makes us want to travel and exchange with various cultures, getting more experience.
When there's a recession in the economy（经济）, those who attended college will be more likely to find a new job than those who only finished high school and have a limited skills set. The more education you have, the more chances you will get to improve the quality of your life as you have a better job and earn a higher salary.
When you're skillful and knowledgeable, you gain access to people of similar backgrounds and tastes. It means a good education leads to excellent networking. Good networking can benefit you a lot in your later life.
A good education makes you a more interesting person. You can talk about ideas and events instead of just other people and what's on sale in stores. An educated person doesn't gossip（说闲话）, having a preference to discuss ideas and listen to what other people have to say.
1. What can we learn about college education from Paragraph 2?| A．It offers you a chance to study abroad. | B．It can allow you to gain more knowledge. |
| C．It can improve the quality of your daily life. | D．It encourages you to travel around the world. |
| A．change. | B．drop. | C．growth. | D．support. |
| A．You can gossip about others’ affairs. | B．You are likely to study well at school. |
| C．You can work well with your coworkers. | D．You get to know excellent people with similar interests. |
| A．The benefits of attending college. | B．The exchange with other cultures. |
| C．The access to good networking. | D．The ways of college education. |
