1 . We sometimes think that everything was much better and easier in the past. It’s one of the tricks our minds play on us, especially when we are in low spirits.
Actually, it’s unlikely that things were objectively better in the past. This form of thinking is called rosy retrospection, which is a well- studied cognitive (认知的) mistake. It happens because when we think about the past, we are more likely to focus on positive aspects than negative details.
If you think back to a holiday with your family five years ago, you’re likely to recall the beautiful views rather than the uncomfortable bed. In other words, the annoying details disappear from our memory over time while the positive ones remain.
Rosy retrospection can influence how we make decisions, and it’s one of the reasons why we easily return into problematic relationships. The longer it is since we experienced the negative influence of a relationship, the more likely we are to let the good memories outweigh the bad memories and to perhaps forgive unforgivable behavior. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to review our nostalgic (怀旧的) feelings with a healthy degree of doubt.
But rosy retrospection does serve an important purpose. It keeps us in a positive state of mind in the present and is important to our mental health. In fact, people who tend to remember negative experiences more than positive ones are likely to suffer psychological disease. Research generally suggests that our happiest days are still to come. And even if they're not, it’s still important to believe that they are. Don’t shy away from looking upon the past with a certain degree of nostalgia. But, for the same reason, don't use the past as an excuse to be unhappy in the present.
1. What does the underlined phrase “rosy retrospection” in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．Concentrating on impossible things. | B．Thinking objectively about the past. |
| C．Having a preference for good memories. | D．Remembering exactly about the details. |
| A．Forgiving the unacceptable behavior generously. |
| B．Reviewing the nostalgic feelings critically. |
| C．Ignoring the nostalgic feelings absolutely. |
| D．Getting back to the problematic relationships bravely. |
| A．The importance of maintaining a positive mindset. | B．The good excuse for present happiness. |
| C．The accuracy of remembering past details. | D．The negative impact of recalling past experience. |
| A．Negative. | B．Cautious. | C．Subjective. | D．Objective. |
2 . Imagine you’re out for an evening walk in a foreign city, looking to find a restaurant for dinner. If you’re like most people, you will look for the busiest restaurant with the most diners because its popularity is bound to reflect on the quality of food and service.But is this true?
In tourist areas, early diners have no meaningful clues as to which restaurant to choose, so they may have picked their evening eatery on a whim (一时兴起). Following passers- by may have misinterpreted their restaurant choice as a well- informed decision and blindly followed their example. This could have resulted in a snow- balling effect, whereby ever-increasing numbers of customers were attracted to the restaurant in question, creating a false impression of approval. Therefore, following the example of others could have led to a suboptimal (次优的) dinner choice in an overcrowded restaurant.
Blindly copying other people’s thoughts or choices or simply going with the crowd is often referred to as “herd behavior (从众行为).” It is a frequent occurrence among humans as well as many other animals.
Herding can appear to make a lot of sense. Average judgments of large groups of people often outperform individual choices. Furthermore, following the crowd appears to offer protection and comfort—after all, there’s “safety in numbers”—while helping to maintain a favorable fame. Finally, following the herd reduces the effort needed to make a personal or unique decision; it is therefore an easy option.
Herd behaviors, while common and easy to explain, hold significant dangers. Contrary to the so-called “wisdom of crowds”, which emerges when the judgments of individual group members are independently collected to produce an average opinion, herd behaviors typically rely on so-called “information cascades”, where people take on others’ beliefs or copy their choices without critically evaluating the underlying reasons. This frequently leads to the imitation of irrational or simply stupid behaviors. As a result, herding can have many undesirable outcomes, including negative influences on consumer choices, like in the restaurant example above.
It appears there is no quick and easy fix to resist the lure (诱惑) of herd behavior. Instead, long-term attitude changes may be necessary, which could involve individuals adopting more critical approaches towards their peers’ opinion, and questioning others’ behaviors as opposed to blindly following them.
1. How is Paragraph 2 mainly developed?| A．By giving example. | B．By presenting fact. |
| C．By analyzing the cause and effect. | D．By making comparison. |
| A．It leads to average judgments. | B．It brings a sense of security. |
| C．It challenges a favorable reputation. | D．It allows for better decision- making. |
| A．Adopting others’ beliefs or choices without evaluation. |
| B．Critical evaluation of underlying reasons for choices. |
| C．Average judgments formed by large groups of people. |
| D．Independent collection of individual opinions and judgements. |
| A．Following the herd can greatly benefit us in various aspects. |
| B．It is no easy task for people to resist the lure of herd behavior. |
| C．It is necessary to think critically rather than follow the herd blindly. |
| D．The busiest restaurant is not necessarily the best one in tourist areas. |
Among many changes the COVID-19 pandemic has brought
Since more people decided to stay home when the coronavirus outbreak spread, they were spending
Unfortunately, a move to a cashless society could cause problems for some communities. About 8% of Americans don’t have a checking account. About 18% of Americans rely on alternative banking
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4 . I presented a group project to my classmates. The first question asked was, “What words do you associate with rural education?” Some of the responses were positive. Others accurately portrayed a few of the negatives like “isolated” and “underfunded.” But I was surprised that some used words like “hillbillies” and “hicks” (乡巴佬). Previously, I felt proud of myself as a student from rural West Virginia. But at that moment, my pride sank. For a place that claims to welcome all, the Brown University has actually left its rural students feeling looked down upon.
For a while, I never mentioned where I called home unless it was absolutely necessary. By the third month of my first year, I was prepared to transfer out of Brown and finish college at a school where I would be surrounded by people like me, people from rural communities. Then I realized that this response was just the one that my tormentors expected.
Now I have decided to fight back. We need to change. But this deeply-rooted culture won’t change on its own. The University and its non-rural students can’t and won’t do it. So it is up to us, the rural students, to make a difference. So rural students, talk with your long, drawn-out accent, defend your hometown of hard-working people and condemn (谴责) the ignorance that attempts to deny your personhood. We must uplift other rural students in their academic and professional careers. We must be the ones to support each other.
What we need is a club for that exact purpose. A rural students’ collective is the formal meeting place that we need and deserve. In an institution where rural students feel lost and deserted, we will soon find a common ground for each other.
For the non-rural students and faculty wondering how to support us, don’t stick to your stereotypes (刻板印象) that rural students are dumb, ignorant and unintelligent. On the contrary, we are valuable, deserving and hard-working individuals. Brown’s faculty and students should welcome and embrace our contributions.
1. How did the writer feel after presenting the group project?| A．Frustrated. | B．Proud. | C．Angry. | D．Confused. |
| A．Those who come from rural West Virginia. |
| B．Those who are determined to make a change. |
| C．Those who used words like “hillbillies” and “hicks” in their remarks. |
| D．Those who associated rural education with “isolated” and “underfunded” . |
| A．They should turn to the college authority for help. |
| B．They should unite and reach out to assist each other. |
| C．They need to setup a special club for all the students. |
| D．They are supposed to avoid speaking with their local accent. |
| A．Positive attitudes contribute to a harmonious college. |
| B．Discrimination is a common phenomenon in Virginia. |
| C．Rural students in Brown are valuable and deserve respect. |
| D．The Brown University badly needs to adjust its moral education. |
1. How many aspects should a good interview process include?
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. |
| A．A manager. | B．A reporter. | C．A writer. |
| A．Some interviewees are too casual. |
| B．Some interviewers are not professional. |
| C．Some interviewees only focus on building a good relationship. |
6 . Campus loan generally refers to a private loan given to a college student on the campus. Internet lenders, most of whom are loan sharks (高利贷者), offer such loans to students who need the money to meet their college and other expenses.
In order to avoid the dangers, the students should limit their consumption to what they really need, increase their financial knowledge and learn how to protect themselves using legal means.
To begin with, before applying for a loan, the students should carefully compare the financial service information and the extra fees different internet lenders charge on loans.
Also, when the students are threatened with physical violence to repay the loan, they should record the conversation and report it to the police in time.
Moreover, the students should learn to protect their privacy. And they should avoid the misuse of their personal information by other people to avoid getting involved in financial crimes.
| A．Campus loan is in essence a private loan. |
| B．Campus loans come with many, hidden legal risks. |
| C．Some internet lenders even promote so-called job-hunting loan. |
| D．Besides, some internet lenders use loan tricks to cheat the students. |
| E．These loans are popular due to their easy application and approval. |
| F．This way, those issuing such threats can be held responsible for their actions. |
| G．They should also carefully read and understand the contract before signing it. |
7 . Josefa Marin went to New York from Mexico in 1987, supporting her daughter back home with the $140 a week she earned at a sweater factory. With that small income, she had to collect recyclables, trading in cans for five cents each.
When the clothing factory closed down in the late 2000s, she became a full-time recycler, picking up cans and bottles to make ends meet.
Marin’s story is not unique. Millions around the world make a living from picking through waste and reselling it — a vital role that keeps waste manageable. In New York City, the administrative department collects only about 28 percent of the cans that could be recycled. Rubbish collectors keep millions of additional recyclables out of landfills every year.
Yet collectors are ruled out by government policies. The United States Supreme Court in 1988 stated that household garbage is public property once it’s on the street. That enables police to search rubbish for evidence, but that protection hasn’t always been extended to recyclers. And in places like New York City, which is testing city-owned locked containers to hide garbage from rats, containers are made clearly inaccessible for collectors.
“There’s value in the waste, and we feel that value should belong to the people, not the city or the corporations”, says Ryan Castalia, director of a nonprofit recycling and community center in Brooklyn.
Recognized or not, waste pickers have long been treated with disrespect. Marin recalls an occasion when someone living next to a building where she was collecting cans threw water at her. “Because I recycle it doesn’t mean I am less of a person than anyone else,” she says.
Some governments are starting to realize that protecting the environment and humanity go hand in hand. The United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, for example, calls for an end to poverty and all the risks it brings.
1. What is the author’s purpose of telling about Marin?| A．To highlight waste collectors’ role. |
| B．To reflect laid-off workers’ hardship. |
| C．To praise her devotion to her daughter. |
| D．To show the seriousness of unemployment. |
| A．By contrasting. | B．By citing reference. |
| C．By giving definitions. | D．By cause-effect analysis. |
| A．Business is business. | B．No job is noble or humble. |
| C．The early bird catches worms. | D．One good turn deserves another. |
| A．The Legal Battles Over Public Garbage Ownership |
| B．The History of Recycling Laws in the United States |
| C．The Rise of Corporate Recycling Programs in New York |
| D．The Struggles and Contributions of New York’s Recyclers |
Migro-dramas or miniseries,
Last year, the market size of China’s online short series was 37.39 billion yuan, with the market
Most short online dramas
At the end of 2023, Reel Short, a short-series application in China, was
Along with the rising number of series, miniseries also face an increasing need for strong regulation.
(1)智能手机的好处；
(2)使用手机的建议：如限制使用时长；独立完成作业，不搜答案等。
注意：
(1)写作词数应为80个左右；
(2)请按如下格式在答题纸的相应位置作答。
How to be a wise smartphone user
Hello, everyone! I feel greatly honored to talk about how to be a wise smartphone user.
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