1 . One person’s happiness causes a chain reaction that benefits not only their friends, but their friends’ friends, and their friends’ friends’ friends. The effect lasts for up to one year. The opposite, interestingly, is not the case: Sadness does not spread through social networks as strongly as happiness. Happiness appears to love company more so than misery.

Focusing on 4,739 individuals, Christakis and Fowler, who co-authored this study, observed more than 50,000 social and family ties and analyzed the spread of happiness throughout this group. The researchers found that when an individual becomes happy, a friend living within a mile experiences a 25 percent increased chance of becoming happy. A co-resident spouse (配偶) experiences an 8 percent increased chance, siblings (兄弟姐妹) living within one mile have a 14 percent increased chance, and for next-door neighbors, 34 percent. But the real surprise came with indirect relationships. Again, while an individual becoming happy increases his friend’s chances, a friend of that friend experiences a nearly 10 percent chance of increased happiness, and a friend of that friend has a 5.6 percent increased chance.

The researchers also found that, contrary to what your parents taught you, popularity does lead to happiness. People in the center of their network groups are the most likely people to become happy, and then there are chances that increase to the extent that the people surrounding them also have lots of friends. However, becoming happy does not help migrate a person from the network fringe (外围) to the center. Happiness spreads through the network without changing its structure.

“Imagine a bird’s eye view of a backyard party,” Fowler explains. “You’ll see people in groups at the center, and others on the fringe. The happiest people tend to be the ones in the center. But someone on the fringe who suddenly becomes happy, say through a particular exchange, doesn’t suddenly move into the center of the group. He simply stays where he is—only now he has a far more satisfying sense of well-being.”

Next time, if you’re happy and you know it, thank your friends—and their friends. And while you’re at it, their friends’ friends. But if you’re sad, hold the blame.

1. Who will be more likely to become happy as a man is happy according to the research?

A．His wife.	B．His next-door neighbors.
C．His brothers and sisters.	D．A friend of his friend.

2. Why does Fowler mention a backyard party in Paragraph 4?

A．To explain a rule.	B．To clarify a concept.
C．To describe a fact.	D．To make a prediction.

3. What does the research aim to tell us?

A．Happiness changes social structures.

B．A social network is a double-edged sword.

C．Happiness goes hand in hand with sadness.

D．Happiness spreads through social networks.

4. What do we know from the last two paragraphs?

A．Friends’ friends may bring you happiness.

B．Your friends are to blame for your sadness.

C．Your friends decide whether you are happy.

D．The happiest friends at party are on the fringe.

2 . Several years ago, a cousin I had lost touch with since I was a teenager dropped by my house. At the living room entrance, he stopped in dead silence, his eyes fixed on the bookshelves covering the entire back wall. “Have you read them all?” he asked me, almost frightened. “Yes,” I said, “just about.” He shook his head in silence, as if this was a feat (技艺) that had demanded some effort. As for him, he had had to leave school at fourteen, working wherever he could. His family did not have books. I only ever recalled seeing the comic book Tarzan lying around on the table.

I often recall this scene with my cousin with unease. It hides another violent one. I was between fifteen and eighteen years old. I must have blamed my father for “not being interested in anything”, for reading only Paris-Normandie, the local newspaper. Usually so calm and tolerant regarding the rudeness of his only daughter, he replied seriously, “Books are good for you. But as for me, I don’t need them to live.”

These words stretch across time, fixed inside me, like a pain and an unbearable reality. I understood very well what my father meant. Reading Alexander Dumas, Flaubert, Camus would not have served any practical purpose in his work as a cafe owner. On the other hand, in the future he hoped for me, he vaguely knew that books held weight, and that they formed part of a defining package — “cultural baggage” — that included the theatre, the opera and winter sports — a superior social world. I understood all that and it was unacceptable. I refused to think that the world of books would stay forever closed to the human being who was dearest to me.

As I think about reasons for reading, my father’s words come back to me insistently, like a personal and unsolvable contradiction. No, to read is not to live but I have always lived with books.

1. What does Paragraph 1 tell us about the writer?

A．Her having read many books amazed her cousin.

B．Her cousin quit school early and had no books at all.

C．She completely finished reading the books on the shelves.

D．Her cousin was frightened to death upon seeing the books.

2. What does “one” refer to in Paragraph 2?

A．An idea.	B．An emotion.
C．A scene.	D．A relative.

3. What can’t the writer accept?

A．The bitter memory of a violent childhood.

B．The strict tone in which her father spoke.

C．The fear of falling short of her father’s expectations.

D．Her father’s ignorance of the importance of reading.

4. What is the passage going to talk about next?

A．Why the writer enjoys reading books.

B．What separates the writer from others.

C．What the writer’s father really meant.

D．How other conflicts erupted.

3 . Eight months after my father died, I saw some letters on top of my mother’s coffee table. They were tied with a silk ribbon and addressed to her decades ago in my father’s neat handwriting. I couldn’t imagine my serious father ever writing anything like love letters.

“Would you like me to read them to you?” Mom asked with a hint of a smile.

The letters were written in 1974 over the course of a month when my father traveled to Italy to care for his beloved, sick mother, leaving his wife and me, their newborn daughter, behind in Toronto, the city my parents called home after immigrating to Canada from Italy in 1956.

Growing up, my father was my hero and protector, but he was also a man of few words, part of a generation of immigrant men who worked hard for a better life.

I sat back while my mother read his letters to me, and thought, “Who is this guy?” My father used endearing terms I had never heard him say. He referred to my mother as “my dearesr” and “my companion” who was always in his thoughts. In each letter, he enclosed a Canadian one-dollar bill for me and declared, “You and your mother are my life.”

As children, we assume we know everything about our parents. But, sometimes, we find out that they were and are people with various facets.

My father was proud and stubborn, and he married a woman who was his equal in that regard. During their 58-year marriage, their stubbornness often led to conflict. So it was bittersweet to hear my father’s youthful sentiments read aloud by my elderly mother with a wistful (留恋的) tone. I knew she was thinking about what could have been and what had been once upon a time. After she finished reading the letters, I held them in my hands and examined them like they were fossils. Although a man I knew as economical with his thoughts, he had filled the front and back of several pages.

These letters are only part of their correspondence. My mother wrote back to my father. One day she will read those letters to me, she’s assured me. And just as with my father, they might help me discover another dimension of a parent I never knew before.

1. What kind of person did the author think her father was?

A．Optimistic.

B．Reserved.

C．Sensitive.

D．Romantic.

2. What can we know about the author’s family?

A．Her mother was the family’s provider.

B．She didn’t get on well with her father.

C．Her parents were emigrants to Italy.

D．Her parents shared similar personalities.

3. What does the underlined word “facets” in paragraph 6 most probably mean?

A．Interests.

B．Ideas.

C．Sides.

D．Possibilities.

4. How did the author feel when she heard the words in the letters?

A．Surprised.

B．Awkward.

C．Thrilled.

D．Heartbroken.

5. What did the author find out about her father through the letters?

A．He was good at hiding his feelings.

B．He regretted not being with his family.

C．He was a loving husband and father.

D．He was stubborn from the inside out.

4 . There are countless articles online that will give you advice on how to deal with homesickness. Here are some of my favorite tips that have helped me.

    1    

Learn to cook with your friends or find new places to eat. Eating with friends makes things so much better. It’s a way to bond and an excuse to get closer. You even get rewarded for it.

Call home—but not every minute of every day.

I saw so many online sources express it in this way, “Talk to your parents—but not too much. Call home—but not too often.”     2     However, it’s a problem when you’re talking to them so much that it’s stopping you from having real experiences in this new place.

Explore.

    3     It took me a while to do this because I focused so much on my studies, but it’s really important. To me, being homesick was a sign that I needed to organize my time better. So I could take a break and go for a walk.

Find a way to deal with your emotions.

I got a guitar during my sophomore (大学二年级) year of university because that’s what I like doing when I’m by myself. I keep a journal because it makes me feel better and productive if I need time by myself but I don’t want to feel lonely.

An outlet(发泄方式) for your emotions can take any shape or form. Whatever it is, it’s important that you find a way to deal with your emotions. Don’t avoid them, but try to understand them.     4     If you focus too much on the negatives, you might forget to see the positives.

Talk to someone.

There is nothing wrong with finding someone to talk to about how you’re feeling.     5     Or it may mean talking to a counselor(顾问) if that’s what you think you need.

There is nothing wrong with being homesick. It’s normal. It’s part of the experience. We all feel things differently, but everything you learn while you are abroad will help you grow.

A．Make food from your home country.

B．Going abroad may cost you a lot of money.

C．It’s good to keep in touch with your family and friends.

D．It’s also a good way to distract(使分心) you in a healthy way.

E．After the first few weeks abroad, many students will feel a little worse.

F．On that line of thought, truly try to explore the city that you’re studying in.

G．It can be friends, family, mentors or professors who you feel can understand you.

5 . It is never easy to be away from our loved ones.

Samantha Norris has missed her mother, Tamie Norris, for the past 11months every day. Tamie spent those months working in Jordan, far away from the family’s home in Austin, Texas. When the mom went back home earlier than expected, she decided to surprise her daughter who was still teaching students in the classroom at that time.

Samantha is a first-grade teacher at Harmony School of Innovation in Austin. This is her first teaching job, and she wanted to share every moment with her mother.

In a video of the big moment, Samantha’s jaw(下颌)hit the floor when her mom walked confidently into the classroom without telling her. Her eyes were filled with tears as Tamie gave her a big hug.

Students suddenly looked up to see their teacher tearfully hugging a woman. They had heard stories about Samantha’s mother, but seeing her was very exciting! “My kids were excited when they understood what was happening, of course, ” Samantha said. “They have always been so curious about her!”

Not only was it a surprise to the students, but Tamie also brought along a box of donuts (甜甜圈) for a sweet treat. Tamie made a big impression on the kids that day.

Later, Samantha shared the video and photos of her mom’s visit on Instagram. “11 months too long without giving my mom a hug-the best surprise, welcome home!!” she wrote.

What a special treat for Samantha—and her students! Tamie is a wonderful example of a strong woman and mother. We’re so glad she’s back in the homeland for a while.

1. What do we know about Samantha?

A．She is a teacher of Grade Two.

B．She is an experienced teacher.

C．She once worked in Jordan for 1l months.

D．She hasn’t seen her mother for l1 months.

2. How did Samantha feel about her mother’s sudden visit?

A．Amazed and hopeful.

B．Disappointed and sad.

C．Surprised and excited.

D．Worried and depressed.

3. What can be inferred from the story?

A．Tamie came back home later than expected.

B．Tamie is a confident and considerate mother.

C．Samantha didn’t share the video of her mom’s visit.

D．The students’ first impression of Tamie was favourable.

4. What could be the best title of the story?

A．A Sweet Surprise.

B．A Confident Mother.

C．An Interesting Class.

D．A Surprised Daughter.

6 . My grandfather used to be the smartest person in the world. I am sure he was. There was nothing he could not explain or narrate to me. When I lost my sight being only six years old, he was the one who supported my connection with the whole world. He was doing it with his tales.

My grandfather was the one who did not allow me to give up. Grandfather supported my memory and boosted my imagination every day. He was narrating fairy stories about everything around us. He made me describe the things that I used to see previously in detail and then told something about them I could not believe.

I remember he gave me his knife. I was careful with it, as it was sharp — my grandfather carved figures and household items with it. I was holding it and trying to restore its look in my memory, and grandfather was telling a story of the knife. He told me that having this knife, he was never wounded in a battle, and he could carve any figure in detail with it. He promised that one day I would get it, and I would be able to carve anything. I touched the blade (刀刃) with my fingers, and I imagined how great I would be in carving. I wanted to make the magic creatures that were mentioned by my grandfather and present them to him.

He made me walk a lot, we were researching the hills and fields, and he taught me how to define the flowers and trees. Being blind, I could find any local plant by smelling and touching. Grandfather promised that one day we would hike together and find real highland edelweiss.

He died a month before I had my operation. When the bandage was taken off my eyes, I saw the faces of parents, sun, flowers and trees, and a knife left by my grandfather. Later, when my sight became stable and it became possible to read, my father gave me a book of tales written and illustrated by my grandfather. There were all the creatures he was talking about. He painted them for me, and I was spending the months looking at them and trying to recall their images in my own memory.

1. How did the author’s grandfather support him?

A．With the power of narration.	B．By treating the author’s disease.
C．With description of scientific stories.	D．By asking the author to memorize stories.

2. What can be learned about the knife?

A．The author’s grandfather got it in a battle.

B．It was a sharp knife carved with many figures.

C．It served as a reminder of the time with grandfather.

D．It acted as a warning against taking any risks.

3. Why did grandfather take the author outdoors?

A．To plant trees and flowers.	B．To make the author get close to nature.
C．To carry out research.	D．To improve the author’s eyesight.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Carving the World	B．Miracles in My Life
C．Blind Memories	D．Restoring the Past

7 . The older I get, the more I understand how my teachers have transformed my life.

On a recent Sunday afternoon, I went to see Mr. C at Roxbury Park in Beverly Hills. His love of life has not dimmed despite the fact that his legs no longer work like they used to. He visited some of his former students while he was in town. At Beverly Hills High School, Mr. C taught ancient history, coached football and golf, and risked his life teaching driver’s training on Saturday mornings from 1964 to 1988. The gray and hobbled students lined up one after another to thank their favorite teacher. One called him a rock star. Another was grateful for helping him when he couldn’t say so. It was a beautiful tribute, especially in these times of catastrophic teacher shortages.

Spending that Sunday in the park with Mr. C was nothing short of magic. It was a reminder of all that is promising and possible in public education, including a teacher whose rare emotional honesty could be appreciated and honored decades later. It also brought to mind Maya Angelou’s saying “People will forget what you said and did, but never forget how you make them feel.” He made me and others in the park feel heard and seen.

Mr. C changed my perception of myself. Rather than seeing myself as a loser cheerleader who couldn’t compete with the smart kids, I realized how much I loved learning. His history class was so interesting. In his classes about the Persians, Greeks, and Romans, extra credits can be earned for creativity. During earthquake drills, we counted on Mr. C to scream his head off in mock terror.

It should come as little surprise that I’d value the role of teachers in my life. Both of my parents taught; so did my siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins. I, too, have become a teacher and I try to follow in Mr. C’s footsteps. Some days, I fantasize what it would be like to go on a teacher tour, reaching out to my mentors to express my deep gratitude for all they’ve given me. Seeing Mr. C sparked that fantasy again. When I finally worked up my courage to thank him, knowing a floodgate of tears would open, he said to me with his typical modesty: “You were doing me more good than I was doing you.”

1. What does the underlined word “tribute” mean in Paragraph 2?

A．enthusiasm

B．admiration

C．devotion

D．commitment

2. Why does the author mention Maya Angelou’s saying?

A．To make a suggestion.

B．To introduce a celebrity.

C．To show respect to an educator.

D．To interpret the influence of education.

3. What does the author think of her job as a teacher?

A．Enjoyable.

B．Intolerant.

C．Incompetent.

D．Patient.

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

A．A reunion.

B．A rock star.

C．A surprise.

D．A great teacher.