1 . Psychologists have long been in disagreement as to whether competition is a learned or a genetic component of human behavior. Whatever it is, you cannot but recognize the effect competition has on academics and many other areas of contemporary life.

Psychologically speaking, competition has been seen as an unavoidable consequence of human drives. According to Sigmund Freud, humans are born screaming for attention and full of organic drives for fulfillment in various areas. Initially, we compete for the attention of our parents.

Current work in anthropology (人类学) has suggested, however, that this view of the role of competition in human behavior may be a fallacy. Thomas Hobbes, one of the great philosophers of the seventeenth century, is perhaps best remembered for his characterization of the “natural world”, that is, the world before the introduction of the will of humanity, as being unpleasant and short. This opinion is still widely held, reinforced by Charles Darwin’s highly influential work, The Origin of Species, which established the doctrine (学说) of natural selection. Darwin’s theory has even been summarized as “survival of the fittest”-a phrase Darwin himself never used-further highlighting competition’s role in success. As it has often been pointed out, however, there is nothing in the concept of natural selection that suggests that competition is the most successful strategy for “survival of the fittest”. Darwin said in The Origin of Species that the struggles he was describing should be viewed as metaphors and couldn’t be separated from dependence and cooperation.

Many studies have been conducted to test the importance placed on competition rather than other values, such as cooperation, and generally conclude that Americans uniquely praise competition as natural, unavoidable, and desirable. In 1937, the world-renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead published Cooperation and Competition among Primitive Peoples, based on her studies of several societies that did not prize competition, and, in fact, seemed at times to place a negative value on it. One such society was the Zuni Indians of Arizona, and they, Mead found, valued cooperation far more than competition. After studying dozens of such cultures, Mead’s final conclusion was that competitiveness is a culturally created aspect of human behavior, and that its popularity in a particular society is relative to how that society values it.

1. What does the author think is commonly seen in many areas of contemporary life?

A．The origin of human drives.

B．The influence of competition.

C．The reasons for human behaviour.

D．The disagreement on competition.

2. What does the underlined words “a fallacy” in the second paragraph mean?

A．A false idea.

B．A hard nut.

C．A losing battle.

D．A mixed blessing.

3. What can we learn from Darwin’s words in The Origin of Species?

A．All species depend on others for survival.

B．The strongest species proves to be the fittest.

C．Struggles for survival include support of each other.

D．Competition is looked on as the best survival strategy.

4. What conclusion did Margaret Mead reach?

A．It is characteristic of humans to be competitive.

B．Americans are uniquely opposed to cooperation.

C．Competition is relatively more popular in Western societies.

D．People’s attitude towards competition is actually culture-bound.

2 . Many economists predict 2024 will be the time shoppers tighten their belts. That doesn’t mean people will stop spending, say retail (零售) analysts. But it will change what they choose to buy. With a slowing job market, global consumers are likely to move away from more high-priced purchases and focus instead on smaller, less expensive treats.     

The economic uncertainty means that consumers are becoming more discriminating about their purchases, says Ethan Chermofsky, senior vice president of marketing at intelligence platform Placer. ai. “There are the things we decide are necessary, and then there’s another category of things that aren’t necessary but that we consider affordable luxuries, he says. This desire for these “affordable luxuries” is common in difficult economic times. Some economists refer to the phenomenon as the “lipstick index”: a small economic increase led by budget-minded consumers seeking out relatively affordable splurges (挥霍), like small cosmetics (化妆品).

Analysts at Deloitte say consumers will spend on little luxuries like specialty coffees and snacks as well. Additionally, stressed-out shoppers are prioritizing small splurge purchases for wellness and personal care.

As retailers see shoppers turning to little luxuries, they’re offering more and more of them. Target, for example, has staked a flag in what they refer to as “affordable joy”, which includes a selection of self-care and cosmetic products, along with wellness-centric beauty products. Beyond diversifying their offerings, stores are also bringing in luxury-feeling products at lower price points to appeal to more consumers.

Ethan says not every shopper will shift their spending to little luxuries-but even those who are still longing for the “must-haves” of social media will also look to get a deal. They want the feeling of purchasing lower-priced affordable treats. To get these goods, shoppers are likely to tap into the re-sale market for designer items at a more reasonable price. They want things that make them feel good about themselves-they just want to do it without breaking the bank.

1. What can affordable luxuries be?

A．Inexpensive daily necessities.	B．High-end products.
C．Reasonably-priced designer items.	D．High-priced purchases.

2. What is paragraph 4 mainly about?

A．The strategies retailers use.	B．The joy businesses offer.
C．The competition stores face.	D．The products consumers buy.

3. What do most shoppers seek according to Ethan?

A．Social-media deals.	B．World-famous brands.
C．Second-hand bargains.	D．Budget-friendly pleasures.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．Lipstick Index: Where Does It Lead Us?	B．Must-have Treats: A Future Spending Trend
C．Affordable Joy: Will We Fall Into The Trap?	D．Little Luxuries: A Driving Force Behind Consumption

3 . In recent years, much of my life as a consumer has shifted to what I like to call background. As I’ve subscribed to more apps and streaming platforms, significant sums of my money tend to slip away each month without my ever thinking about it.

Think of it as an automated trade. Spending without the trouble of spending. Acquaint ion without action. Or thought.

But while this flood of subscriptions was sold to me on the condition that it would make my life more trouble-free, there was a certain shock I felt upon discovering how much I was spending without realizing each month ($179.45).

You see, the thing about background spending is that it tends to happen, well, in the background without your full attention. And there lies the point.

“Hand over your credit card details and let us take care of the rest,” these companies promote. But by again sing their name, we’ve become lazy, positive consumers. And this laziness breeds (导致) more laziness because most of us can’t be bothered with conducting regular reviews of our subscription spending. We’re too lazy to even notice or cancel it!

I know it’s not just me who is suddenly living life as a smart-braised subscriber. The average consumer spends $273 per month on subscriptions, according to a 2021 study of 2,500 by digital services firm West Morose. Not a single person surveyed knew what his actually monthly spending was.

It’s understandable why this model is so attractive to businesses. As companies questioned traditional advertising models, subscription offered the promise of “selling once and earning forever.” And while subscription services have been around for decades (think Wine of the Month Club), more customers have been willing to sign up thanks to the widespread availability of smartphones and the increasing ease of home delivery.

While these subscription promise ease and happiness, not all of us are satisfied. Last year, the Kameny Institute found 40 percent of consumer believe they have too many subscriptions. Almost half of us also think we pay too much for streaming video-on-demand subscriptions.

1. What can we know about background spending in paragraph 2?

A．Its purpose.

B．Its feature.

C．Its procedure.

D．Its requirement.

2. What makes it possible for background spending to happen?

A．Its attractive price.	B．Some people’s poor habit.
C．Its secure service.	D．Some people’s addiction to it.

3. Why is the subscription model appealing to businesses?

A．It offers good home delivery services.

B．It is like traditional advertising models.

C．It is popular among smartphone producers.

D．It brings repeated profits through a single sale.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards background spending?

A．Supportive.

B．Doubtful.

C．Critical.

D．Unclear.

4 . Almost half a billion small, cheap electrical everyday items from headphones to handheld fans ended up in landfill in the UK in the past year, according to research.

The not-for-profit organization Material Focus, which conducted the research, said the scale of the issue was huge and they wanted to encourage more recycling.

More than half a billion cheaply priced electronic goods were bought in the UK in the past year alone - 16 per second. Material Focus findings showed that of these items, 471m were thrown away. This included 260m disposable vapes, 26m cables, 29m LED, solar and decorative lights, 9.8m USB sticks, and 4.8m miniature fans.

Scott Butler, executive director at Material Focus, described it as “fast tech“. He said, “People should think carefully about buying some of the more frivolous items in the first place.” He said the items people bought were often “cheap and small”, and that consumers may not realize they contain valuable materials that could be salvaged if recycled.

Small electricals can contain precious materials including copper, lithium and stainless steel. These components can be recycled and used in wind turbines, medical devices and electric vehicles. Material Focus said that while people were used to the idea of recycling larger electrical items such as fridges, lots of smaller devices were left unused in houses.

Butler said, “We want to get the message across that anything with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled and there’s somewhere near you to do it. The scale of the issue is huge, but there’s an easy solution-just as the trend for recycling and repurposing fashion has grown and grown, we want to encourage the nation to recycle fast tech, guilt-free and fuss-free.”

Material Focus said that when consumers bought a cheap item, they saw it as disposable. They estimate that UK citizens spent more than f2.8bn on these cheap products in the past year. The non-profit group described it as“the tip of the iceberg”when it comes to the growing issue of wasted electricals in the UK. More than 100,000 tonnes of waste electricals are thrown away every year, and there are 880m electrical items of all kinds lying unused in UK homes.

1. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A．The research was carried out by the authorities to encourage recycling

B．Cheaply priced electronic goods are easy to be thrown away around the world

C．Disposable vapes made up the majority of cheap electrical goods that ended up in landfill

D．British people are inclined to buy cheap electrical goods

2. What can we infer from Butler’s words in paragraph 4?

A．Cheap items don’t deserve consumer’s careful use

B．Valuable materials can be found in these cheap and small electrical goods

C．Low-quality electrical goods are easy to be recycled

D．Consumers should stop buying these “fast tech”in the first place

3. What did Butler appeal to people to do?

A．They’d better recycle small devices as well as larger ones

B．They’d better set up somewhere near them to do the recycling

C．They’d better catch the trend of disposing small and cheap items

D．They’d better spread the idea of “fast tech”

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Tons of small and cheap electrical items are thrown away

B．Lcgal efforts should be made to ban small electrical items

C．“Fast Tech”-the future generation

D．Recycling valuable materials from electronics is urgent

7 . I came across an image recently of a distance runner with a message that told readers to persevere (坚持) at all costs. It reminded me of a conversation I had. My colleague’s teaching assistant was asking for my advice. He wanted to know when to quit something. He described how he’d been playing an online game with people for some time. It hadn’t been very fun lately, but there was always that small chance of a reward (upgraded equipment, etc).

I inquired further about his relationship with the players and his gains from the game. I then discussed the sunk cost dilemma, a concept I studied in advanced school due to its personal impact. In high school, I applied to five universities, planning to choose the cheapest one. SUU offered the best scholarship, and after paying a $100 commitment fee, I heard back from another school with an even better scholarship. Despite the new offer, I stayed committed to SUU, believing that switching schools, even if it meant acknowledging the “wasted” $ 100, would have been the wiser financial choice.

A rational (理性的) decision maker is not ruled by past investments, but weighs future outcomes. I didn’t focus on future outcomes when weighing colleges. I focused on the money I sunk into SUU. Rather than evaluating future career options, I focused on the fact that I’d already taken elementary education courses.

I’m not the only one that’s fallen prey to this. I wear clothes I dislike simply because I spent money on them (and that money won’t come back). Unhealthy relationships last because of the invested time (leading to more unhappy years). However, time, effort, or money that you’ve invested doesn’t mean you should continue. Society often stresses perseverance — never quit, never give up, don’t waste. However, only you know your right path. Walking away can be the toughest choice. You might realize a path you’re on is no longer the right one or never was.

1. Why does the author introduce a distance runner’s image at first?

A．To make a contrast.	B．To give a definition.
C．To draw a conclusion.	D．To illustrate a theory.

2. What is the common characteristic of a rational decision maker?

A．Following suit as most people.	B．Taking elementary education.
C．Valuing the development in future.	D．Overlooking past investments.

3. What does the underlined idiom “fallen prey to” mean in the last paragraph?

A．Get benefits from.

B．Be harmed by.

C．Be interested in.

D．Get rid of.

4. Which is the best title of the text?

A．Perseverance is a virtue	B．The chosen path is the toughest
C．Cut your losses for your winners	D．Walking away means losing all

9 . Phonics, which involves sounding out words syllable (音节) by syllable, is the best way to teach children to read. But in many classrooms, this can be a dirty word. So much so that some teachers have had to take phonics teaching materials secretly into the classroom. Most American children are taught to read in a way that study after study has found to be wrong.

The consequences of this are striking. Less than half of all American adults were efficient readers in 2017. American fourth graders rank 15th on the Progress in International Literacy Study, an international exam.

America is stuck in a debate about teaching children to read that has been going on for decades. Some advocate teaching symbol sound relationships (the sound k can be spelled as c, k, ck, or ch) known as phonics Others support an immersive approach (using pictures of cat to learn the word cat), known as “whole language”. Most teachers today, almost three out of four according to a survey by EdWeek Research Centre in 2019, use a mix of the two methods called “balanced literacy”.

“A little phonics is far from enough.” says Tenette Smith, executive director of elementary education and reding at Mississippi’s education department. “It has to be systematic and explicitly taught.”

Mississippi, often behind in social policy, has set an example here. In a state once blamed for its low reading scores, the Mississippi state legislature passed new literacy standards in 2013.Since then Mississippi has seen remarkable gains., Its fourth graders have moved from 49th (out of 50 states) to 20th on the National assessment of Educational Progress, a nationwide exam.

Mississippi’s success is attributed to application of reading methods supported by a body of research known as the science of reading. In 1997 experts from the Department of Education ended the “reading war” and summed up the evidence. They found that phonics, along with explicit instruction in phonemic (音位的) awareness, fluency and comprehension, worked best.

Yet over two decades on, “balanced literacy” is still being taught in classrooms. But advances in statistics and brain imaging have disproved the whole-language method. To the teacher who is an efficient reader, literacy seem like a natural process that requires educated guessing, rather than the deliberate process emphasized by phonics. Teachers can imagine that they learned to read through osmosis(潜移默化) when they were children. Without proper training, they bring this to classrooms.

1. What do we learn about phonics in many American classrooms?

A．It is ill reputed.	B．It is mostly misapplied.
C．It is totally ignored.	D．It is seemingly contradictory.

2. What has America been witnessing?

A．A burning passion for improving teaching methods.

B．A lasting debate over how to teach children to read.

C．An increasing concern with children’s inadequacy in literacy.

D．A forceful advocacy of a combined method for teaching reading.

3. What’s Tenette Smith’s attitude towards “balanced literacy”?

A．Tolerant.

B．Enthusiastic.

C．Unclear.

D．Disapproving.

4. According to the author what contributed to Mississippi’s success?

A．Focusing on the natural process rather than deliberate training.

B．Obtaining support from other states to upgrade teaching methods.

C．Adopting scientifically grounded approaches to teaching reading.

D．Placing sufficient emphasis upon both fluency and comprehension.

10 . Creative people are more likely to make the most of their idle (空闲的) time during a typical day by exploring their mind, a new study by University of Arizona researchers suggests.

In the study, the researchers divided the study into two parts. For the first experiment, the researchers asked each participant to sit alone in a room for 10 minutes without any access to digital devices. In the absence of any particular prompt (提示), the participants were asked to speak out their thoughts aloud in real time. The recorded files from 81 participants were then analyzed.

The researchers assessed the participants’ creativity through a thinking test, a lab-based verbal test that measures a person’s ability to think outside of the box. Participants who performed well in the thinking test had thoughts that flowed freely and were associated with one another, often indicated by phrases such as “this reminds me of” or “speaking of which”.

“While many participants had a tendency to jump between seemingly unrelated thoughts, creative individuals showed signs of thinking more associatively,” Raffaeli said, who was a senior author of the paper.

The first experiment also found that creative people were more engaged in their thoughts when they were left alone without distractions (干扰), such as the cellphone and Internet. “Creative people rated themselves as being less bored, even over those 10 minutes. They also spoke more words overall, which indicated that their thoughts were more likely to move freely,” Raffaeli said.

To further prove their initial findings, the researchers extended their study in the context of a much larger span of time—from 2020 to 2023 when many people were alone with their thoughts more often. For the second experiment, over 2,600 adults answered questions through a smartphone app called Mind Window. Participants who self-identified as being creative reported being less bored and more engaged in their thoughts during that period.

The researchers are continuing this line of work using their Mind Window app. They encourage people to download and use the app to help scientists understand how people across the world think in their everyday lives. “Understanding why different people think the way they do may lead to promising interventions to improve health and well-being,” Raffaeli said.

1. What were the participants asked to do in the first experiment?

A．Play digital devices for just 10 minutes.

B．Voice their thoughts quickly when asked.

C．Observe and record each other’s performance.

D．Make self-assessment in a thinking test.

2. What was the feature of the creative participants in the study?

A．They often had associated ideas.

B．They thought of anything as a reminder.

C．They preferred to sit alone without being distracted.

D．They tended to jump between unrelated thoughts.

3. Why did the researchers encourage people to use Mind Window?

A．To analyze their own thoughts.	B．To try out the function of the app.
C．To keep track of their thinking.	D．To improve their own mental well-being.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．Idle Time Makes Creative People

B．Creative Thoughts Appear in Idle Time

C．Creative People Are Less Affected by Distraction

D．Creative People Enjoy Idle Time More Than Others