Be Aware of the Anti-climax
Many of us work tirelessly towards our goals, We may spend our lives dreaming of the day we are admitted to our dream university, publish our first book or purchase our first home. However, more than often, when we achieve these things, it doesn’t feel quite as expected. In fact, the achievement of these goals feels anti-climactic, or a bit of a letdown.
“An anti-climax can be an unexpected by-product of a milestone achievement. Usually, the more significant the milestone, the greater the anti-climax may be,” says Rachel Vora, psychotherapist and founder of CYP Wellbeing. “The journey to achieving a milestone can be exciting and all-consuming. Therefore, when this disappears overnight, we can often feel lost and confused.”
In psychology, the belief that we’ll be happier when we achieve our goals even has a fancy scientific name. Psychologists call it “arrival fallacy (悖论)” and it plays a big part in those feelings of emptiness that can follow achieving a goal. “The term describes how fulfilling our goals and achieving our ambitions doesn’t lead to a ‘happily ever after’”, states psychologist Lee Chambers.
If you find yourself currently working toward something big that you suspect may feel like a bit of a letdown, there are steps you can take to manage and even prevent the feeling of anti-climax.
Enjoy the journey
You’d better slow down a little and come to realize that joy comes from the doing, not the completing. So instead of rushing for it to be done, take a moment to enjoy the doing.
Foresee the comedown
If you are aware of a potential upcoming anti-climax, schedule an activity to look forward to soon after the event has finished. Consider planning some time with friends and family, or attending a concert or even a cooking class. This can act as a reminder that other aspects of life can be just as fulfilling.
Normalize the experience
The key is to normalize feelings of low mood, confusion, and self-doubt around anti-climaxes, which are something many people experience. Connecting with others may also be beneficial. It can help to engage with friends and influencers online who share similar experiences to feel less isolated (孤立的) with your own emotions.
1. According to the passage, how do people often feel after they make great achievements?2. What does “arrival fallacy” refer to?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
To deal with your anti-climax, you’d better stay away from those who share similar experiences with you.
4. Suppose you have just been admitted to your dream university. What will you do to deal with the anti-climax? (In about 40 words)
2 . Absence of evidence is not the same thing as evidence of absence. But if you try to find the difference and keep failing to get it, you can be forgiven. And so it is with the complicated subject of explicit (明确的) grammar teaching in schools, and its link with improved writing ability.
A recent study, like nearly all previous studies on this subject, found that teaching kids how to label the bits and pieces in a sentence does not make them better writers. Other observers may begin to wonder whether the National Curriculum, which since 2014 has made grammar such a central part of its English programme, might have gone down a blind alley.
The promoter of the curriculum, a former secretary of education, Michael Gove, insisted on the insertion of personal preference into the grammar curriculum, notably the subjunctive form, “If I were”. Mention of his name alone wrinkles many teachers’ noses — partly because some of them were hardly prepared to teach the new material themselves after decades in which grammar was largely absent from classrooms.
In reflection, it seems unsurprising that learning to underline a modal verb, such as “can”, “should” and “may”, does little to help students use them effectively in their own writing. These words are anyway grasped by tiny children without the need to know what they are called. This may lead to the conclusion that the teaching of grammar should be shelved altogether. However, it shouldn’t be abandoned, though it should be reformed.
There are practical reasons for teaching and learning grammar. One is that an explicit knowledge of it will make learning a foreign language easier. If you did intuit (直觉上知道) how to make subordinate clauses in your mother tongue, getting to grasp them in a foreign language in later years is simpler if you know how to define and spot them.
For grammarians keen on the jobs of the future, the field of natural language processing is booming. Technological talents have invented programs for automated translation, speech recognition and other services that are actually usable, even if far from perfect. These tools may rely more on knowledge of AI than of grammar, but linguistic expertise (专门技能) still matters.
Grammar could still be taught better. One small study showed improvement in some students when concepts were linked concretely to writing tasks. Therefore, the science of how words combine to make meaning is fascinating as well as fundamental.
1. What do many teachers think of Michael Gove’s idea?| A．They are in support of his claim. |
| B．They show disagreement with his idea. |
| C．They have no comments on his philosophy. |
| D．They are prepared to teach the new materials. |
| A．Mother tongue grammar contributes to foreign language learning. |
| B．Grammar is taught better in writing than in other areas of teaching. |
| C．Natural language processing is strongly supported by grammarians. |
| D．Grammar knowledge is no longer needed with the development of AI. |
| A．Grammar — To Teach or Not to Teach |
| B．How Could Grammar Be Taught Better |
| C．Why Learn Foreign Language Grammar |
| D．Mother Tongue Grammar — Important or Not |
3 . Recently, environmentalists have encouraged us to buy local food. This reduces “food miles”, that is, the distance food travels to get from the producer to the seller. They reason that the higher the food miles, the more carbon emissions (碳排放). Buying local food, therefore, has a lower carbon footprint and is more environmentally friendly.
However, the real story is not as simple as that. If our aim is to reduce carbon emissions, we must look at the whole farming process, not just transportation. According to a 2008 study, only 11% of carbon emissions in the food production process result from transportation, and only 4% came from the final delivery of the product from the producer to the seller.
In fact, imported food often has a lower carbon footprint than locally grown food. Take apples, for example. In autumn, when apples are harvested, the best option for British people is to buy British apples. However, the apples we buy in winter or spring have been kept refrigerated for months, and this uses up a lot of energy. In spring, therefore, it is more energy-saving to import them from New Zealand, where they are in season. Heating also uses a lot of energy, which is why growing tomatoes in heated greenhouses in the UK is less environmentally friendly than importing them from Spain, where the tomatoes grow well in the local climate.
We must also take into account the type of transport. Transporting food by air creates about 50 times more emissions than shipping it. However, only a small number of goods are flown to foreign countries, and these are usually high value, perishable (易腐烂的) goods which we cannot produce locally, such as seafood and out-of-season berries. Even then, these foods may not have a higher carbon footprint than locally grown food. For example, beans flown in from Kenya are grown in sunny fields using human labour and natural fertilisers (肥料), unlikein Britain, where we use oil-based fertilisers and machinery. Therefore, the total carbon footprint is still lower.
It’s also worth remembering that a product’s journey does not end at the supermarket. The distance customers travel to buy their food, and the kind of transport they use will also add to its carbon footprint. So driving a long way to shop for food will wipe out any environmental benefits of buying locally grown produce.
Recently, some supermarkets have been trying to raise awareness of food miles by labelling (标记) foods with stickers that show it has been imported by air. But the message this gives is too simple. Lots of different factors contribute to a food’s carbon footprint besides the distance it has travelled.
1. What can we learn about “food miles”?| A．It influences how people deliver and transport food. |
| B．It will increase if people are encouraged to buy local food. |
| C．It is the key factor contributing to a food’s carbon emissions. |
| D．It shows how far the food goes from farmland to supermarkets. |
| A．transporting food by air is the most energy-saving type of shipping |
| B．storing local food creates more carbon emissions than importing food |
| C．human labour and natural fertilisers can increase the carbon footprint |
| D．growing out-of-season food takes less energy than importing food in season |
| A．Supportive. | B．Negative. | C．Confused. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．Food miles: Is buying local food always better? |
| B．Carbon emissions: How to grow food in a greener way? |
| C．Transportation: Is delivering food creates carbon footprint? |
| D．Carbon footprint: What does importing food bring to environment? |
Roots & Shoots is a global network of young people
Zhang Qi,
6 . An Effective Commercial
I have to admit that I rarely watch commercials, since most of them are boring and stupid. When watching commercials, we are “learning” that consumption makes us happy and that we need to buy everything. This really makes me
A young lady is talking over the phone to her family right before Christmas. She is upset because she won’t be with them for the holidays. I believe she is talking to her mother, who asks her if she has received the
This is where I got
Commercials can
| A．relaxed | B．annoyed | C．nervous | D．curious |
| A．materials | B．reports | C．messages | D．presents |
| A．argues | B．responds | C．mentions | D．proves |
| A．practically | B．fortunately | C．successfully | D．surprisingly |
| A．improved | B．confused | C．affected | D．stressed |
| A．imagine | B．approve | C．remember | D．promise |
| A．suggest | B．confirm | C．identify | D．strengthen |
| A．accept | B．share | C．admit | D．judge |
| A．move | B．control | C．protect | D．encourage |
| A．promote | B．update | C．associate | D．discover |
Today, technological advances are rapidly making it possible to automate much of the work currently carried out by humans. This applies to both blue-collar jobs, through robotics and the Internet of Things, and white-collar work, through artificial intelligence. The wide applicability of these technologies has led to broad concern about the destruction of jobs. Indeed, according to a 2014 Oxford study, 47% of jobs in the US could be replaced by automated processes in the next two decades.
Of course, as many have noted, while technology has always removed the need for some types of jobs, it also creates new ones. Technology is a set of tools that we use in different ways to increase efficiency. The Industrial Revolution destroyed some jobs but created many more. It also increased the total wealth of society and began to create a middle class who could enjoy health, education and other benefits that previously had been available only to the wealthiest. It can be challenging to predict the kinds of jobs that this new revolution will create and in what quantities, which makes the situation seem worse than it actually is. But nine of the top ten most in-demand jobs of 2012 did not exist in 2003, suggesting that this latest revolution is creating new employment opportunities.
For many, this picture is overly optimistic. The new jobs require a completely different skills set – you can’t turn an assembly plant worker into a data scientist overnight, if at all. Others are concerned that we are facing a permanent reduction in the need for human labour. Science fiction has long imagined a future where we no longer have to work and can spend our time on more noble pursuits. Could it be that we are reaching that inflection point in human history? If we are, neither our social norms nor our economic systems are ready for it. Today, self-worth is inherently tied up with jobs, professions, careers and trades.
1. How is white-collar work automated by technology?2. What is technology according to the passage?
3. Please briefly present the benefits that technological advances bring to you. (about 40 words)
Almost every community in the world has some form of rules and some way of carrying them out. A community is a group of people who are united by a number of factors, including geography, language, and values. So why do we have rules, and what makes people follow them? Studies have suggested that the reason we don’t like cheating and rule-breaking is that fairness is programmed into our brains. They have found that the brain reacts in a particular way when we feel we are being treated unfairly. The findings concluded that fairness is a basic human need along with food and social contact.
Our sense of fairness depends on the influences in our culture, the immediate situation we are in, and our own self-interest. Arriving at a feeling of fairness means considering different, often conflicting, points of view. Regardless of the disagreement, people almost always need to compromise. But it can be difficult to arrive at a compromise (妥协) when there are conflicting interests. This is why communities have rules that everyone must follow.
Social controls are an important factor in setting and following rules. They influence the way we behave and can be internal or external. Internal controls come from within and are based on our values and fears. Most of us don’t steal, for example, because we believe that theft is unfair and wrong. In other words, our internal controls keep us from behaving in ways that cause conflict.
External controls include rewards and punishments. They do not come from within but are implemented by an authority — this could be the government, the police, a teacher or parents, depending on the situation. Rewards, such as job promotions, awards, and praise, are designed to encourage people to behave and act in the interest of the whole community. Punishments, such as public embarrassment, fines, and even imprisonment can prevent people from acting against the community’s best interests.
People need their communities to function smoothly. Because of this, humans most often behave in orderly, fair, and predictable ways. If there were no rules, the majority of people would probably continue to interact positively. However, there would always be a minority who would not, with serious consequences. This is why a society without rules is unlikely to become a reality any time soon — at least not in the real world. (390 words)
1. Why do we have rules and follow them?2. How do social controls influence our behavior?
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then change it and explain why.
Our internal control comes from rewards and punishments from an authority like our school.
4. If you could change a rule at your school/home/community, which one would you like to change? Why? (In about 40 words)
The stability of the developing livestreaming sector has made it an ideal source of jobs for those born after 1995 who have a passion for novel and newly emerging industries, experts said. A recent report by Zhaopin, an online recruitment platform, and e-commerce giant Alibaba
10 . The term "labor shortage" was Googled more in May. Headline after headline has cited wage rises and bonuses that seem to make it a job hunter's market.
The concept sounds simple — American companies must be struggling to find the employees they need. Yet some labor economists would argue the picture isn't complete. Employers are unable to find the workers they want at the wages they're willing to pay. Failing to appreciate this distinction could lead to policy errors down the road.
The laws of supply and demand should make spotting labor shortages relatively straightforward. When there aren't enough workers, employers pay more to get them and wages go up.
Yet quickening wage growth isn't the only mark of a shortage. The sign is seeing this trend alongside stalling（停滞） job growth. Just look at what's been happening in the leisure and hotel industry, among the most bruised by the COVID-19 shutdown. After jobs almost disappeared during the pandemic, we're starting to see a rebound: In May, the industry created 292,000 jobs, far outpacing other corners of the economy. Meanwhile, average weekly earnings have been rising faster. In other words, the market is working to resolve a shortage: When employers lift wages, they're able to attract the employees they need. Yet, the industry wages are only just meeting pre-COVID levels; they are not too high.
To assess a shortage accurately, though, you need to look beyond industries to specific locations and occupations. The taxicab queuing model was used to address the debate about a shortage of workers in engineering. Employers and job openings can be thought of as taxis, while workers are a line of waiting passengers. Depending on your location, there may be a long line of taxis (say, at the airport), or on the contrary a long line of passengers (at a hotel). Demand for chemistry engineers in Texas, for example, is different from chemistry engineers in Massachusetts.
The bottom line is that, in the market, shortages are not universal. Simultaneous shortages and surpluses can come to the force across the economy at any given point, which is why broad-brush policies can be counterproductive.
1. What could lead to policy mistakes in the future?| A．The views of some labor economists. |
| B．Misunderstandings about labor shortages. |
| C．Workers who have difficulty in finding jobs. |
| D．The salaries the employers are willing to pay. |
| A．The leisure and hotel industry is doing a very successful business. |
| B．Rapid wage growth connects with stalling employment growth. |
| C．The economy recovered quickly after the COVID-19. |
| D．Employees are eager to work after the COVID-19. |
| A．To explain an opinion. | B．To clarify a concept. |
| C．To present a fact. | D．To make a prediction. |
| A．Job market is expected to be stronger |
| B．Take wisdom to assess labor shortages |
| C．Competitors are eager to keep talent |
| D．Let the market fix labor shortages |
