1 . Signs that You Are Growing
Growing is a lifelong process. Here are the signs that show you are actually growing and not getting stuck in the process.
Often, we see how badly people look when they get overly upset due to unimportant things. So the first sign of maturity (成熟) is letting the small things go and not getting angry over a tiny detail that didn’t go as you planned.
You start forgiving and understanding other people.
When we are young, we are often unforgiving. As we mature, we are better able to understand the world beyond black and white. Becoming more understanding is a sign of strength, not weakness.
You always complete things that matter.
Immature people don’t know when to commit (承诺) themselves and their energy or resources are always not well employed.
You accept the possibility of being wrong.
Being mature is knowing that you are always growing up. You are never done learning and developing.
| A．You follow the crowd. |
| B．You let the small things go. |
| C．Instead, mature people focus on completing things that matter. |
| D．Immature and mature people can both have plans for their lives. |
| E．This means that you don’t set yourself up as the highest authority. |
| F．It enables us to look beyond the obvious and let go of simple judgments. |
| G．Mature people appear more confident, however, they are not overconfident. |
Jenny was the only child in her family. She had a quarrel (吵架) with her mother that afternoon and she ran out of the house angrily. She couldn’t help weeping sorrowfully when she thought of the scolding from her mother. Having wandered aimlessly in the street for hours, she felt a little hungry and wished for something to eat. She stood beside a stand (货摊) for a while, watching the middle-aged seller busy doing his business. However, with no money in hand, she gave a sigh and had to leave.
The seller behind the stand noticed the young girl and asked, “Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?”
“Oh, yes, but I don’t have money on me.” she replied.
“That’s nothing. I’ll treat you today,” said the man, “Come in.”
The seller brought her a bowl of noodles, whose smell was so attractive. As she was eating, Jenny cried silently.
“What is it?” asked the man kindly.
“Nothing. Actually, I was just touched by your kindness!” said Jenny as she wiped her tears. “Even a stranger on the street will give me a bowl of noodles, while my mother drove me out of the house. She showed no care for me. She is so merciless compared to a stranger!”
Hearing the words, the seller smiled, “Girl, do you really think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you thanked me a lot. But it is your mother who has raised you since you were a baby. Can you remember the times she cooked for you? Have you expressed your gratitude to her?”
Jenny sat there, speechless and numb with shock: she remembered her mother’s familiar face and weathered hands. “Why didn’t I think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel grateful. Why haven’t I thanked my mum for what she has done for me?”
On the way home. Jenny made up her mind to make an apology to her mother for her rudeness as soon as she arrived home.
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Nearing the doorway, Jenny took a deep breath.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At that time, her mother came back and touched her hair gently, which called her mind back.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3 . What are the speakers talking about?
| A．Polite greetings. | B．Table manners. | C．Body language. |
1.分析现状；
2.提出建议。
注意：1.写作词数应为80个左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Good morning, everyone.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________5 . A man came home from work late to find his 5-year-old son waiting for him at the door.
“Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
“Yeah sure, what is it?” replied the man.
“Daddy, how much do you make an hour?”
“If you must know, I make $20 an hour.”
Looking up, the little boy asked, “Daddy, may I please borrow $10?”
The father was angry, “If the only reason why you asked that is that you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard every day for such this childish behavior?”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy’s questions. “How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?”
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down and started to think: “Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10 because he really didn’t ask for money very often.”
The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door. “Are you asleep, son?” He asked. “No daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy.
“I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too strict with you earlier,” said the man. “It’s been a long day and I took out my bad feelings on you. Here’s the $10 you asked for.” The little boy sat straight up, smiling, “Oh, thank you, daddy!” Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled(褶皱的)bills.
The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at his father. “Why do you want more money if you already have some?” the father complained. “Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied. “Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.”
1. Why was the father angry at first?| A．Because he misunderstood his son. | B．Because he worked too late that day. |
| C．Because his son wanted to buy a silly toy. | D．Because his son asked for too much money. |
| A．To offer his son more money. | B．To check if his son was asleep. |
| C．To make an apology for his strictness. | D．To take out his bad feelings on his son. |
| A．That his son owed him money. | B．That his son had owned money. |
| C．That his son had told a lie to him. | D．That his son refused to talk to him. |
| A．Inspired. | B．Panicked. | C．Regretful. | D．Doubtful. |
6 . We’ve all been there—you’ve sent a message and it’s marked “read”, but you haven’t heard anything back. What’s the deal? While being left on read (已读不回) can be confusing, it’s also pretty common.
Expect the best. Remind yourself that the person is probably just busy. Ask yourself if you actually know their schedule. There could be some time commitments you aren’t aware of. Here are a few other reasons for a delayed response.
Resist the temptation (诱惑) to double-text.
Read over your previous messages. See if there are any confusing texts that you need to clarify. It’s okay if you review your message again and notice that it might have been a little unclear—it happens!
| A．Put your phone away. |
| B．Fix your attention closely on text responses. |
| C．Give them a little space so they have a chance to reply. |
| D．They want to give you a longer response but can’t right now. |
| E．Ask yourself why being left on “read” frustrates or confuses you. |
| F．You can keep the situation from bothering you until you hear back. |
| G．You might feel relieved when you find something that is easy to misread. |
7 . When going shopping with a friend, Gail Heyman found herself quite awkward (令人尴尬的) when her friend asked her which dress she liked best. Her friend had a clear favorite — a dress that Heyman happened to dislike. “In that case, I lied and said that I like the same one,” said Heyman.
As Heyman’s experience shows, it might not matter all that much if you tell a white lie to make a friend feel good at times. But when it comes to the most meaningful relationships in your life, protecting a friend’s feelings at all costs can sometimes make them fail. For example, if a person is practicing for a job interview and it’s a few days before his interview, and he gives an answer that you think is not good at all and you don’t tell him because you don’t want to hurt his feelings, that’s really not very nice to him, right? Because he has an opportunity to fix that thing.
If you know that lies can have results, why do you still lie often? A study carried out by Tali Sharot, a professor at University College London, found that it’s because people just get used to it. One little lie can turn into bigger and bigger lies over time. “If you habituate emotionally, it will change your behavior,” says Sharot.
Sharot notes that if you’re worried about lying a bit too much, try and notice when you want to bend the truth (歪曲事实). She thinks it’s best to do so when you’re not actually responding to those triggers (诱因). Moving your attention away from shame and focusing more on your values can be a healthy way to start looking at this more actively.
1. How does the author start the text?| A．By raising a question. | B．By giving an example. |
| C．By expressing an opinion. | D．By comparing different views. |
| A．Be careful about lying. | B．It’s OK to tell a white lie. |
| C．Never should a person tell lies. | D．A meaningful relationship matters. |
| A．They are used to lying. |
| B．They don’t behave well. |
| C．They lose track of others. |
| D．They don’t want to hurt others’ feelings. |
| A．Try to bend the truth. |
| B．Change our behavior. |
| C．Say sorry to the one we lied to. |
| D．Concentrate more on our values. |
8 . As we walk the “path of life”, we may sometimes wish to be alone with our own thoughts, for quiet periods of reflection can lead to personal improvement. However, social life is also important to us. More often than not, close friendships will help smooth out the sometimes rocky road that we are all meant to travel.
The first is the peace that comes from sharing with friends our joy, sadness, success and failure. Here, friendship has a double advantage.
The last is the help that a friend may offer in many different ways. There are so many things in life that can only be achieved with the help of friends. Friends may have many different ideas and skills.
By the way, it should be pointed out that enjoying the company of a crowd is not the same as being with friends.
| A．Friends should be carefully chosen. |
| B．Then comes the recognition from our friends. |
| C．Happiness shared takes on a greater meaning. |
| D．Therefore, we can be much happier and wiser. |
| E．They can help us achieve what we want in our life. |
| F．The next is the better judgement and understanding. |
| G．Generally speaking, close friendships have three “fruits”. |
Birthdays were a huge deal at my workplace. Co-workers went above and beyond to shower the person of honor with food, decorations, affirmations, love and, yes, embarrassment on their special day. As one who preferred to go unnoticed and felt embarrassed at being the center of attention, I was horrified to walk in on my birthday to see my desk decorated with glittery streamers, and a hot pink sash (饰带) with the words, “Kneel! I’m the Birthday Princess”. I was forced to wear for the duration of the day.
Although embarrassed by the display, I felt extremely loved. I thoroughly enjoyed the pleasant flowers and delicious chocolate cake my co-workers gave me.
Several months after my birthday celebration, our office welcomed Laura, a new member, to the team. Hired as our office manager’s assistant, Laura was also tasked with establishing a human resources department. Possessing an ambitious vision and receiving trust from our manager, she immediately made major changes — which were not well received. Gradually, Laura became the centre of gossip (闲言碎语).
When Laura’s spring birthday neared, it was evident that no one wanted to celebrate. I understood why no one wanted to go all-out in celebrating Laura’s birthday, but it bothered me nevertheless. As an extremely shy and introverted (内向的) individual, being left out or ignored was nothing foreign to me, and it pained me to think of the deliberate effort to ignore her birthday. Although she drove me crazy, too, I knew her time in our office had not been easy.
Stopping by our local grocery store, I selected some rosy-pink tulips and a birthday card in which I wrote a heartfelt note highlighting some of Laura’s qualities I admired, such as her ambitious spirit, creativity, and strong inner drive. Arriving an hour early to work the morning of her birthday, I transformed her corner of the office just like what my co-workers did for my birthday.
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
I watched Laura spot her decorated work area when she arrived.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The friendship between Laura and me began since the lunch and continued to grow over the years.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
10 . Due to social events in recent years, the relationship between social media and teenagers mental health has been under heated discussion.
On Sept 30 a British court decided that content on social media platforms contributed to the depression of 14-year-old Molly Russell. Russell interacted with 2,100 posts related lo pessimistic, self-harm in the six months, leading up to her depression, reported the Observer website.
The correlation has also been proved by science. A study in 2019 showed that the frequent use of social media by teenagers can lead to a decrease in their mental health.
So, how can we make sure that teenagers won’t get hurt while using social media? Chan, 18, from the University of Macao shared her experience. Chan said that she once came across short videos romanticizing mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. She immediately reported them to the platform.
But she said that the users’ power to regulate videos is still limited. “It is ultimately the responsibility of the social media platforms to filter out content that is potentially harmful.” She also noticed that the age of social media users has become increasingly younger. Society should pay attention to this, she said. “Since it’s not possible to cut off access to social media for younger users, why not introduce a ‘supervision mode’ with which parents can regulate the content to be viewed by teenagers beforehand?” she said.
Wu Chengyu, 18, studies at Tianjin Experimental High School. He said that several years ago he came across a game that lures teenagers to self-abuse and depression. He quickly chose to ignore it so he wouldn’t be influenced. This is the same way he reacts when exposed to negative content on social media.
In Wu’s opinion, teenagers today should improve their social media literacy (素养), telling real from fake and good from bad. “Also, everyone can be a content creator on social media.” he said, “We should all strengthen our awareness of ethics”.
1. What led to Russell’s depression according to a British court?| A．Her interaction with others online. |
| B．Negative information on social media platforms. |
| C．Short videos she watched on the Internet. |
| D．Her addiction to online posts. |
| A．The number of younger Social media users should be limited. |
| B．Parents should monitor the content to be viewed by teenagers in advance. |
| C．A supervision mode ought to be introduced by parents. |
| D．It is the responsibility of the society to romanticize mental illnesses. |
| A．Parents. | B．Social media platforms |
| C．Content creators. | D．Social media platforms. |
| A．Use social media wisely. | B．Reduce social media usage. |
| C．Stay away from online games. | D．Learn more about social media. |
