1 . In your daily life negative emotions (负面情绪) can do great harm to you. If you want to stay away from bad feelings, you can train yourself to let the light in.
Start smiling more. When you smile, your brain start neural (神经系统的) messages that actually make you feel more positive. Even if you’re feeling kind of unhappy, make your face do the work of smiling to have a good day.
Do nice things for others. Sometimes you may have a day with bad feelings.
Be with people you enjoy. If you want to think positively, make yourself stay with other positive thinkers, and with people who bring out the best in you.
Keep a diary and record each day. If you sometimes end the day on a unpleasant note, train yourself to turn that around. Instead, sit down and pour yourself a cup of tea.
| A．That doesn’t mean you have to be like that. |
| B．Make some changes in the words you use. |
| C．Don’t judge yourself simply by others’ feelings. |
| D．Just think over it and start writing about your day. |
| E．Hangout with those who are supportive and friendly. |
| F．It is important to find the bright side and stay positive. |
| G．Talk about things that went along well and explain why. |
2 . When I was in school, I participated in an internship (实习期) with a hospital chaplain (牧师). This largely included me visiting certain hospital patients and then discussing the communication with the chaplain.
I had no special training in this, and introducing myself to strangers was not my natural talent. On one visit, I cautiously entered a darkened room to find an elderly man lying lonely in the bed. He was awake, but very weak, confused and anxious. He badly wanted to communicate something, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying. He obviously didn’t want me to leave, but I felt so lost and uncomfortable that I had to leave the room after only several minutes.
The next time I was at the hospital, I was arranged to make follow-up visits with the same list of patients. I expected my time with the old man to be just as short as the last time. As I arrived at the room, the first thing I noticed was that the lights were on. His daughter was there visiting him. He was sitting in the bed and looked much better. I was certain the man didn’t remember me at all, but he recognized me immediately, saying, "I remember you. You were the angel that gave me hope in my darkest hour!" I was so amazed that I didn’t know how to respond.
I may never be able to explain it, but somehow he found in me something he needed at an important point in his life, just because I was there. I have thought about this encounter (相遇) often over the past 25 years. It has shaped the way I see life, the way I see myself, and the way I see others. Obviously, we can’t know the effect our actions, or even just our presence, will have on life.
1. Why did the writer leave the elderly man soon on the first visit?| A．They had a short and boring conversation. |
| B．The elderly man wanted to stay by himself. |
| C．The writer was frightened by the elderly man. |
| D．The writer didn’t know what he could do to help. |
| A．The elderly man’s condition turned much better. |
| B．The elderly man could hardly remember the writer. |
| C．The writer planned to communicate more deeply with the elderly man. |
| D．The writer wasn’t surprised at being called an angel by the elderly man. |
| A．he was encouraged by the writer’s words |
| B．the writer’s second visit moved him deeply |
| C．he was impressed by the writer’s friendliness |
| D．the writer’s first visit gave him much strength |
| A．Getting a New Talent. | B．An Angel by Accident. |
| C．Saving a Lonely Old Man. | D．Communication Makes Life Better. |
3 . Ways to Show Gratitude (感激)
COVID-19 has a way of making people feel like their world was turned upside down overnight. They struggle with feeling frightened and feeling like everyone is overreacting (反应过度).
Give thanks for everyday things
One way to make gratitude a regular part of your day is to make it a habit to think of three things you are thankful for each day. It doesn’t really matter whether you perform this exercise first thing in the morning or just before you go to bed. The important thing is that you’re taking time and reflecting on what you are grateful for.
Keep track of everything you’re grateful for
Using a phone app like Gratitude Plus, you can record the things you’re grateful for. Another option is to use social media or even post-it notes to express your gratitude.
Reflect on past negative experiences
Look back on the worst moments in your life.
| A．Make gratitude a daily habit. |
| B．Stick to expressing gratitude in public. |
| C．Then, compare those with where you are now. |
| D．Gratitude doesn’t have to be over the top or something significant. |
| E．You can hardly stay strong while recalling the moments that ever happened. |
| F．But learning to practice gratitude every day can bring some changes to your life. |
| G．The key is to use a method to help you remember the things you are grateful for. |
4 . “I think kawaii, or cute feelings, can remind us of human connection that we sometimes forget,” says Hiroshi Nittono, director of the Cognitive Psychophysiology Laboratory at Osaka University.
“Viewing cute images of baby animals gives us a desire to act tenderly and responsibly to protect them,” he explains. “This idea holds that weak and defenseless but cute things set off caregiving behavior in the beholder.” Cute things make us feel protective, and when we’re protective, we might be naturally more focused.
Engineers, advertisers, and developers have taken advantage of this phenomenon, using kawaii to control user experience and consumer behavior. Researchers call it cute engineering. It’s a way to harness positive feelings and emotions to motivate (激励) and shape the user’s behavior in a positive way.
Sometimes cute engineering is subtle (微妙的), but it’s often quite obvious. Engineers use kawaii in the field of robotics, for instance—the cuter the robot, the more humans will want to engage with it. There’s also the iMac, which over the years, Apple designed to be subtly adorable (可爱的). It persuaded traditionally non-computer users to buy into the world of computing so that they could sell more units.
There’s also “cute filtering (萌物滤镜)”, a component of cute engineering that allows consumers to personalize their kawaii experience, just like the way iMac users could choose the color of their units. In this way, users can create their own kawaii experience. Using a “cute filter”, users can freely choose the cuteness parameters (参数) such as color, size, motion, smell, and taste to adjust their desired cute output.
1. Why would people like to protect cute baby animals according to Hiroshi Nittono?| A．People have no choice but to do it. |
| B．People are taught to protect animals. |
| C．Cute things motivate people to protect them. |
| D．Cute baby animals are too weak to protect themselves. |
| A．Focus on. | B．Figure out. | C．Throw light on. | D．Make use of. |
| A．The iMac could shape people’s preference. |
| B．Computer producers could make more money. |
| C．Engineers could design computers to their taste. |
| D．Consumers would like to have more kawaii experience. |
| A．The Power of Kawaii. | B．Protect Cute Animals. |
| C．A New Discovery. | D．Control Cute Feelings. |
5 . Alex Zhang, a 26-year-old male engineering worker, has been working at one of China’s leading telecommunication companies for years. He believes that the current situation at his company has become stagnant, despite the fact that his co-workers are staying later and later in the office and volunteering more frequently to work on weekends.
“At first people would try to work like a horse, but gradually the rising number of working hours doesn’t mean a higher reward anymore but will only bring anxiety and stress,” Zhang added. “Also, as some people realize they have to stay overtime anyway, they become slack (懈怠的) during the day.”
“Involution,” or nèi juǎn in Chinese, is a rising buzzword (流行语) in China, referring to the status of not making any progress and development. It was first used to describe the unreasonable amount of work every student has to face to get competitive grades inside Chinese universities. Later it has spread fast and come to refer to the abnormal work culture of big companies where 996 ― working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week ― is common. More and more tired workers have begun to talk about similarly depressing working conditions they face, fueling heated discussions online.
Facing such an exhausting and unrewarding competition, Generation Y and Z are beginning to choose “lying flat” — a new phrase popularized within the last few weeks, meant to reflect the unresisting and unbothered attitude. Besides being used in the workplace, other areas that “lying flat” happens include marriage, consumption (消费), and social activities. Feeling more and more powerless, some young people have had a complete lack of interest in getting married, having kids, and making large purchases. When China’s “the three-child policy” is making waves on the internet, some netizens are responding with comments that point to the deep causes within education, housing, and the unfair treatment that female employees face, all of which are reasons behind people’s “lying down” attitude.
What is on earth the right attitude towards life? Among the heated discussion online, “I lie down. You involute. Neither of us is the other’s business.” was one of the most popular comments. But are there only two options? Instead of thinking about how to make a difficult choice, what you need to think about is how to adjust your mind and get rid of anxiety. Live your own life based on reality and shoulder the responsibility. That’s it.
1. What does the underlined word “stagnant” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Energetic. | B．Inactive. |
| C．Competitive. | D．Exhausted. |
| A．Workplace. | B．Politics. |
| C．Education. | D．Marriage. |
| A．They follow the crowd blindly. |
| B．They develop a sense of incapability in the race. |
| C．They are indifferent to real life by nature. |
| D．They become less fit for lack of regular exercises. |
| A．To introduce the origin of the term “involution”. |
| B．To criticize the young Chinese who are “lying flat”. |
| C．To stress the importance of the unresisting attitude. |
| D．To inspire a positive attitude in the involuted people. |
6 . A group of researchers in South West England suspected that young teens who were remote schooling due to the COVID-19 pandemic might be feeling more anxious. When they conducted a survey, however, what they found was surprising to them: the students were actually experiencing less anxiety.
The study, which was carried out by researchers at the university of Bristol, made use of an already ongoing study dealing with social media use and teen mental health. The participants had already done a baseline survey before the pandemic in October 2019. To assess the impact of the pandemic, another survey was done during the April/May time frame. Over 1000 year-nine students from 17 secondary schools in South West England were involved in the study.
The team found that 54 percent of 13-to14-year-old girls were at risk of anxiety prior to the pandemic, with that figure dropping by 10 percent during lockdown. Twenty-six percent of boys in the same age group were at risk during the initial survey, compared to 18 percent during lockdown.
Many of the teens also reported an increased sense of well-being while they were in lockdown.Boys reported a bigger improvement than girls.Also, those who reported the lowest sense of well-being prior to the pandemic experienced the greatest improvement. Emily widnall MSc, who was the lead of author of the study, said that she and her team were surprised when they said the results of the survey. “However when taking a step back,” she said, “we know that school for many young people can be quiet anxiety-provoking in terms of exam pressure and challenging peer relationships including bullying. This has been a really rare opportunity to understand how younger teenagers feel without the day-to-day pressures of school life. ”
Many students also reported feeling a greater connection to their schools with increased opportunities to talk with their teachers despite not physically being at school. “It may be because digital platforms could play a bigger role as a learning tool.”
1. Why did Emily carry out the research?| A．To figure out why the teens were anxious during lockdown. |
| B．To evaluate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on teen mental health. |
| C．To find out to fight with the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| D．To know how social media use affect teens. |
| A．Junior to. | B．Precious to. | C．Equal to. | D．Familiar to. |
| A．Boys suffered from high level of anxiety than girls. |
| B．Girls reported a bigger improvement in the sense of well-being than boys. |
| C．The study was made up of data collected on two different occasions. |
| D．Remote schooling can help teens get rid of pressures. |
| A．Teens felt greater connections to schools. |
| B．The pandemic had influence on teens. |
| C．Teens reported mental improvements in lockdown. |
| D．Social media helped the teens relieve stress. |
7 . I was with my mom one day as we took a walk while window shopping. We both knew we wouldn't be buying much. I remember I was looking up at the people we passed as we walked. Ladies wore 5-inch heels and bright clothes. Men wore expensive perfumes and creams that wiped away the wrinkles on their faces. An uneasy feeling started to settle in my chest. I could deny it no longer and I was ashamed of my mom.
We were in a high-class neighborhood. We lived in a small, expensive apartment building at the edge of our county. Mom chose to move there because she knew the schools were good. I realized for the first time that we didn't belong there.
I could see the heavy lines around my mom's eyes and mouth. She wore cheap clothes and worm-out shoes. Her eyes were tired from working long hours to make ends meet, and her hair was too gray for her age. She was nothing extraordinary, yet at that moment, she stood out because she was just so plain. I didn't want to be seen with her although there was no one important around to see me anyway. I felt embarrassed about being at her side. We were standing in the middle of a high-end store, and she was holding a sweater.
Mom said, “Anna, this will look good on you. Do you want it?” It Was much too expensive, but I almost thoughtlessly answered “Yes”. Then I took a closer look at the small, tired woman with a big smile and a sweater in her hands, happy to be giving me something so nice. My words died in my throat. Her clothes were worn and old because she spent her money buying me new ones. She looked so tired because she was busy working to provide for me. She didn't wear jewelry or perfumes because she was content with spending what little money she had on me. Suddenly, my mom was beautiful and extraordinarily wonderful in my eyes. I was no longer ashamed of her, but of myself.
“Do you want it?” Mom repeated.
“No, thanks,” I replied.
1. Why did the author describe the passers-by while window-shopping?| A．To stress her mother was plain. |
| B．To show she envied rich people. |
| C．To suggest she was curious about others. |
| D．To indicate she was in an expensive neighborhood. |
| A．Studying at a top school. | B．Going window-shopping. |
| C．Being seen with her mom. | D．Living in a small apartment. |
| A．She was afraid of being blamed by her mom. |
| B．She was too excited to say anything about the sweater. |
| C．She felt her mom was so ordinary that she stopped speaking. |
| D．She failed to speak after realizing her mom's great sacrifices. |
| A．Misunderstanding Mom | B．Refusing Mom's Kindness |
| C．Feeling Ashamed of Mom | D．Going Shopping with Mom |
