South Koreans have enjoyed their first close-up look of new baby giant pandas at a name-revealing ceremony that is also
What to name the twin sisters was widely discussed among netizens after they were born on July 7 in theme park Everland. The names were
The baby pandas,
Everland said it would monitor the twins’ health
2 . Even before the Internet brought unlimited consumer options directly into our homes, choice had long been seen as the driving force of capitalism (资本主义). The possibility of consumers to choose between competing providers of products and services decides which businesses will grow rapidly and which will bite the dust. The competitive environment caused by consumers’ free choice supposedly drives innovation and efficiency, delivering a better overall consumer experience.
However, recent experiments on consumer behaviour have suggested that too many options can lead to a range of anxieties in consumers—from the fear of missing out (FOMO) on a better opportunity, to the loss of pleasure in a chosen activity (thinking “why am I doing this when I could have been doing something else?”) and regret from choosing poorly. The raised expectations presented by a broad range of choices can lead some consumers to feel ill-informed and indecisive when making a purchasing decision.
Fortunately, randomness offers us a simple way to overcome the choice-related anxieties. When faced with a multitude of choices, many of which you would be happy to accept, throwing a coin may be the better option. This “randomized” strategy can help us to focus on our true preference and sometimes making a quick good choice is better than making a slow perfect one, or indeed making no decision at all.
It’s important to remember that you are not required to follow the randomized decision blindly. The suggested choice is just designed to put you in the position of having to seriously consider accepting the specified option, but doesn't force your hand one way or the other.
For those of us who struggle to make decisions, it’s comforting to know that when struggling with a selection, we can get out a coin and allow it to help. Even if we resolve to reject the outcome, being forced to see both sides of the argument can often kickstart or speed up our decision-making process.
1. Which is closest in meaning to “bite the dust” in paragraph 1?| A．Survive. | B．Fail. | C．Adapt. | D．Benefit. |
| A．too many options could make consumers more anxious |
| B．more choices usually led to better consumer experiences |
| C．companies are more innovative in a competitive environment |
| D．customers could make better decisions with enough information |
| A．Focus on our true preference. | B．Delay the decision indefinitely. |
| C．Accept the randomized strategy. | D．Throw the coins more than once. |
| A．Economy. | B．Politics. | C．Health. | D．Psychology. |
3 . In February, news broke that Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff had taken a “digital detox(脱瘾)”: 10 tech-free days at a French Polynesian resort. For a small group of people, taking a step back from devices is an achievable dream, but for most, it’s an impossibility, especially.
A digital detox requires dismissing technology almost entirely: taking a break from screens, social media and video conferences for multiple days. The goals—reducing stress or anxiety, and reconnecting with the physical world—are well-intentioned. However, experts say a digital detox isn’t practical anymore for most people.
“Technology is very much a part of us now. We bank with an app, read restaurant menus on phones and even sweat with exercise instructors through a screen,” says Seattle-based consultant Emily Cherkin, who specialises in screen-time management. “It’s so embedded(嵌入式的) in our lives, we’re setting ourselves up for failure if we’re going to go phone-free for a week.”
As people become increasingly interdependent on technology, doing a digital detox no longer seems like a reasonable goal. But there may be a more realistic solution that will lessen our tech obsession(着迷), without forcing us to totally disconnect.
Rather than cutting out technology altogether, practice digital mindfulness. Make sure the use of technology is purposeful. Instead of a full detox, digital mindfulness may be more practical for some people: less worry about cutting tech out entirely, and more focus on being intentional with its use.
The goal shouldn’t be to cut off technology or to put a full stop. People still need to send an email, but can do so without getting distracted by the various online contents.
This approach is called “grey detoxing”—you’re not totally immersed(沉浸的) or totally cut off from technology. Instead of causing ourselves more anxiety by attempting to live without our phones for a week, we can approach unavoidable screen time in a way that feels right for our individual lives.
1. Why does the author mention Marc Benioff in paragraph 1?| A．To criticize the idea of digital detox. | B．To urge readers to take a digital detox. |
| C．To bring digital detox up for discussion. | D．To recommend a French Polynesian resort. |
| A．They are more stressed and anxious. | B．They are deeply influenced by tech. |
| C．They are unwilling to go phone-free. | D．They tend to be more pessimistic. |
| A．Going on a holiday to Polynesia. | B．Avoiding tech altogether. |
| C．Disconnecting occasionally. | D．Using tech purposefully. |
| A．It is achievable. | B．It is unreasonable. |
| C．It is ridiculous. | D．It is unrealistic. |
4 . Even chess experts perform worse when air quality is lower, suggesting a negative effect on cognition(认知). Here’s something else chess players need to keep in check: air pollution.
That’s the bottom line of a newly published study co-authored by a researcher, showing that chess players perform objectively worse and make more suboptimal(次优的) moves, as measured by a computerized analysis of their games, when there is more fine particulate matter(颗粒物) in the air, notated as PM 2.5.
More specifically, given a modest increase in fine particulate matter, the probability that chess players will make an error increases by 2.1 percentage points, and the spectrum of those errors increases by 10.8 percent. In this setting, at least, cleaner air leads to clearer heads and sharper thinking.
“We find that when individuals are exposed to higher levels of air pollution, they make more mistakes, and they make larger mistakes,” says Juan Palacios, an economist in Sustainable Urbanization Lab.
“It’s pure random exposure to air pollution that is driving these people’s performance,” Palacios says. “Against comparable opponents in the same tournament round, being exposed to different levels of air quality makes a difference for move quality and decision quality.”
The researchers also found that when air pollution was worse, the chess players performed even more poorly when under time limitation. “We find it interesting that those mistakes especially occur in the phase of the game where players are facing time pressure,” Palacios says.
“There are more and more papers showing that there is a cost with air pollution, and there is a cost for more and more people,” Palacios says. “And this is just one example showing that even for these very excellent chess players, who think they can beat everything, it seems that with air pollution, they have an enemy who harms them.”
1. What effect does air pollution have on chess players?| A．They make fewer good choices. | B．They perform subjectively worse. |
| C．They suffer body discomfort. | D．They lose all games with computers. |
| A．Magic. | B．Process. | C．Range. | D．Balance. |
| A．His appeal for attention to chess players. |
| B．His concern about air pollution. |
| C．An example of chess players’ performance. |
| D．Approaches to dealing with air pollution. |
| A．Air pollution is a tough enemy chess players face. |
| B．Chess players make more and more mistakes. |
| C．There is a cost with air pollution for more people. |
| D．Chess players perform poorly under time limitation. |
5 . I believe that we can use social media for a lot of great things and it’s important especially for business owners like me. Ever since I started my calligraphy business two years ago, I’ve never spent a day without going on social media, especially a kind of social app on my phone, on which I promoted my products and services and got in contact with possible customers.
Later I found it got in the way of more important things. I hate to say I was hooked by it, but I was. Every time I turned on my phone, I would dive into it. For a long time, I had been I ignoring other parts of my life, like my family, my friends and my happiness. One day, I was thinking that a break should have happened long before to me.
Then I decided to remove the app off my phone for a month and only use that on my computer to keep track of my business. I wanted a clean break to reflect and plan for the future.
I had believed that if I spent less time on the platform, I would miss out much. Actually, I was so wrong. During this month off, I realized there was much to enjoy in life. I found more time to enjoy my hobbies and contacted my good friends that I had lost touch with, I was refilled with energy in all aspects of my life.
This one month off the app on the phone was healthy for me. If it were not for my business, I would like not to have it on my phone. I downloaded the app again on my phone, but only used it to post my own content. I didn’t intend to paint social media in a negative light, but now I just don’t think the way I was using it was healthy. It’s difficult to find balance, but I’m going to try to do it anyway. I’m going back, but it’s going to be different.
1. What did the author mainly do on social media?| A．He connected with his friends. | B．He worked on business activities. |
| C．He learned calligraphy on his own. | D．He shared advice about keeping fit. |
| A．Opposed to. | B．Injured by. | C．Addicted to. | D．Frightened by. |
| A．It was meaningless to share on social media. |
| B．There was lots of fun away from social media. |
| C．The social app contributed little to his business. |
| D．The social app in the computer was more practical. |
| A．One month away from social media upsets him. |
| B．He wants to seek more hobbies on social media. |
| C．He has confidence in balancing social media and life. |
| D．His friends ask him to communicate on social media. |
Every year, universities
The Chinese mainland has the
The COVID-19 pandemic(大流行)has had an infuence
“There is a clear change happening across higher education around the world, and perhaps most
7 . When I go to a new place, the first thing I like to do is walking around the streets to
On every comer there was a sleeping dog. At every traffic
The dogs are
The dogs do not have an easy life: they are often hungry, cold or injured. The government does not provide much
Some people believe that the
The future of street dogs is
| A．explore | B．find | C．travel | D．sleep |
| A．cats | B．dogs | C．birds | D．sheep |
| A．say | B．speak | C．describe | D．write |
| A．road | B．spot | C．system | D．light |
| A．jumping | B．waiting | C．hesitating | D．refusing |
| A．parents | B．food | C．toys | D．owners |
| A．disappointed | B．shocked | C．nervous | D．angry |
| A．aggressive | B．thirsty | C．hungry | D．sensitive |
| A．controlled | B．accepted | C．caught | D．received |
| A．often | B．never | C．merely | D．barely |
| A．put into | B．put out | C．put off | D．put forward |
| A．check | B．sell | C．change | D．make |
| A．love | B．money | C．care | D．time |
| A．policy | B．position | C．behavior | D．situation |
| A．unacceptable | B．reasonable | C．unusual | D．interesting |
| A．diseases | B．fears | C．problems | D．questions |
| A．aging | B．raising | C．growing | D．declining |
| A．bite | B．breed | C．bark | D．beg |
| A．reducing | B．increasing | C．rising | D．enlarging |
| A．bright | B．different | C．promising | D．uncertain |
8 . When I was about 5 years old, I experienced my very first random act of kindness. I was sitting at the roadside one evening, crying alone for some reason when suddenly, a boy came up to me and gave me a plastic rose, I remember the moment when I took the rose from his hand; I was smiling from ear to ear, whispering “I want to be like him” to myself as I watched him walking away.
From then on, I made it as my life mission to do random acts of kindness whenever I can. I was very determined to make other people smile. That was the only reason why I joined my school’s Red Crescent Society and became a volunteer. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks in the same way as I did. Whenever I do something nice to others, people around me will start to judge my actions. Often I will just keep quiet and ignore what they say, but every once in a while, they do drive me up the wall.
These people like to complain about how humans nowadays are lacking of humanities and compassion. However, when they actually see somebody doing a good deed in front of them, they start to question and criticize that person’s honesty. Perhaps it is the increasing crime rate and the never-ending rat race that caused them to be so suspicious to nice strangers. In other words, people nowadays have lost sight of the real meaning of kindness and just let it go unnoticed. That is why I think random acts of kindness are really important. These selfless acts are not only capable of bringing joy to the receivers but also to the givers. Because of this, I want to help spread the idea of these random acts to the whole world. I want to show the people how the little things they give could make a big difference in someone else’s life.
1. What was the influence of the boy’s rose on the author?| A．It made the author feel ashamed. | B．The author decided to follow suit. |
| C．The author said a lot to the boy. | D．It gave the author strength and hope. |
| A．To be a volunteer. | B．To live a happy life. |
| C．To make others smile. | D．To have a good time. |
| A．Make me very angry. | B．Bring difficulty to me. |
| C．Force me to climb the wall. | D．Force me to the dead corner. |
| A．Rats are always running on the streets. | B．Those who do good deeds are respected. |
| C．The author feels sad about other people. | D．Trust between people is decreasing. |
9 . Northeastern University in Northeast China's Liaoning Province said it will remove 52PhD students who failed to finish their studies within the permitted study period. One often has been studying for their PhD for 18 years and another two for 17 years, according to an announcement made by the university's College of Information Science and Engineering on Tuesday.
The students were admitted to the college from 2002 to 2012, a list on the college's official website showed. About 78 percent of them have been studying for their PhD at the college for over a decade. The study period for doctoral students in the university is three years, however, and the maximum length of schooling is six years with suspensions included, according to the management rules of the university.
Chinese universities have been seen clearing those postgraduate or PhD students who fail to graduate at the correct time in recent years. Xidian University in Xi'an of Northwest China, for example, removed 33 PhD students in August, some of whom had been studying for 15 years. Yanbian University in Northeast China's Jilin Province announced on November29, 2019, that it would delist 136 graduate students, including 14 PhD students.
A staff member of the university said that some of the students left without telling the school or going through the correct procedures. The difficulties in PhD study and the improving requirements for academic achievements have been found to be the main reasons resulting in students dropping out, experts said. Yang Liu, an associate professor who graduated with a PhD four years ago from a key university in Shanghai, told the Global Times that it is not strange for some PhD students to drop out under the strict academic review process. He also said that some may be scared off by the economic pressure of long-term schooling.
1. What is the permitted study period for a PhD at most?| A．A decade. | B．7 years or so. | C．6 years. | D．Within 3 years. |
| A．The long term of schooling. | B．The increasing requirements for study. |
| C．The economic pressure of schooling. | D．The mixed procedures for leaving universities. |
| A．The difficulties in PhD study scare off many students |
| B．Students fail to graduate from their universities |
| C．University in China's northeast delists over 50 PhD students |
| D．Chinese University is considering clearing some PhD students |
| A．Objective. | B．Worried. | C．Critical. | D．Hopeful. |
增加:在缺词处加一个漏词符号(∧),并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改:在错的词下画一横线,并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2.只允许修改10处,多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Social work is the new career in China. It involves improving society, solve problems between people and helping people improve their lives. One thing that social workers do is to work with family members do not get on well with each others. In the past, there are not many social workers in China. Therefore, the fast-economic growth in China has caused society to change quickly, and China needs more social workers to help people deal with these change. In respond to this situation, many Chinese universities are introducing courses in social work. Social work is a very interested and necessary career. Whether you enjoy helping people, this can be the career for you.
