1 . Psychological science is full of interesting topics, many of which tell a coherent picture of human nature, but some of which create seemingly contradictory stories. A case in point is the misunderstood overlap(交叠) between strengthbased science and the research on narcissism (自恋).
There is now convincing evidence to show that narcissism is on the rise, especially in our youth. Some researchers say that about 25% of young people showing symptoms of narcissism.
We are correct to be concerned about this phenomenon, but our fear that all kids are potential narcissists has caused an unhelpful reaction against approaches that seek to make our children and teens feel good about themselves.
In my own research on strengthbased parenting, it is common for people to wrongly think this approach to be the cause of narcissism. Their argument seems to be that a child who knows their strengths will automatically view themselves as better than everyone else. It is argued that the selfassurance that comes with identifying and using their positive qualities will make a child selfish and uncaring.
Why does this occur? It’s partly because more is known about narcissism than strengths. While strengths psychology has largely stayed within the limit of academic journals, research on narcissism has made its way into the mass media and our daily life.The New York Times noted that narcissism is a favored topic and that people everywhere are diagnosing others with it.
The fear that a strengthbased approach will cause narcissism also occurs because of our binary (非此即彼的) thinking. We mistakenly believe that one cannot be both confident and humble. Without confidence in their strengths, Gandhi and Mother Teresa couldn’t have achieved so much, and yet modesty and selflessness are their qualities.
When we assume that strengthfocus is the same as selffocus, we fail to make the idea clear that people who know their strengths are, actually, more likely to be prosocial and ready to help others.
It’s easy to conclude that every young person is at risk of becoming a narcissist but I’d like to stand up for the thousands of young kids I have worked with who are caring, thoughtful and humble—even when they use their strengths.
1. Which of the following opinions may the writer agree with?| A．To state all kids are potential narcissists is overstating the case. |
| B．Strengthbased parenting results in narcissism. |
| C．It’s unhelpful for us to make our children feel good about themselves. |
| D．Children knowing their strengths tend to be more selfish and uncaring. |
| A．Many people are diagnosed with narcissism by doctors. |
| B．There is a shortage of narcissism in our common sense. |
| C．Academic journals report more on narcissism. |
| D．The general public has fewer approaches to strengths psychology. |
| A．Tolerant. | B．Neutral. | C．Supportive. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．Teens’ Narcissism Diagnosis | B．Teens’ Misunderstood Confidence |
| C．Teens’ StrengthBased Approach | D．Teens’ Psychology Research |
2 . For the past three decades, companies and consumers have benefited from cross—border connections that have helped to maintain a steady supply of electronics, clothes, toys and other goods so abundant that it has managed to keep prices low across the board.
However, as the pandemic and the Russia — Ukraine conflict continue to weigh on trade and business ties, that period of plenty appears to be undergoing a partial reversal. Companies are rethinking where to source their products and are stockpiling inventory (库存), even at the potential cost of lowering their efficiency and increasing their operation expense. If the situation lasts for very long,
American economists are debating whether recent supply chain troubles and geopolitical conflicts will result in a shake-up of global production, in which factories that had previously been sent offshore or areas with fewer tax regulations, move back to the United States or into other more stable countries. If this happens, a decades-long decline in the prices of many goods could come to an end. We may even witness a slide backwards, meaning a potential boost in prices and overall inflation as a result.
The period of global integration before the pandemic made many of the things Americans buy cheaper. Computers and other forms of technology made factories more efficient, and they rolled out sneakers, kitchen tables, and electronics at a pace unmatched in history. Companies slashed their production costs by moving factories offshore, where wages were lower. The adoption of steel shipping containers and ever larger cargo ships allowed products to be transported from Bangladesh and China to Seattle and Tupelo and everywhere in between at astonishingly low prices.
Those changes, however, had consequences for American factory workers, who saw many jobs disappear. Katherine Tai, the U. S. trade representative, said that, while American consumers have enjoyed the “luxury” of low prices for imported goods for a long time now, the system upon which it was built has always been a very “fragile” one. Americans are not just consumers, but also workers who have to compete in a global marketplace for talent where globalization “has damaged opportunities and wages for average American workers”.
“Some returning is occurring — let’s make no mistake about that.” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala., the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, said in an interview. But the data shows that most businesses are reducing their risk by building up their inventories and finding additional suppliers in low-cost countries, such as Vietnam and Mexico. This process could end up helping more deeply integtate poorer countries in Africa and other parts of the world into the global value chains, said Dr. Okonjo-Iweala.
The intertwined trajectory (轨迹) of globalization, low prices, and inflation on the whole will be closely watched by economists over the years to come. “It would certainly be a different world.” Jerome H. Powel, the chair of the Federal Reserve, said when asked about a possible move away from globalization. “It’s not obvious how dramatically conditions will change,” he said. “But it’s clear that it’s slowed down.”
1. Which of the following best fits the blank in Paragraph 2?| A．the trend of global integration |
| B．a shift away from fine-tuned globalization |
| C．the benefit of cheap and plenty goods |
| D．an upcoming economic crash |
| A．A potential decline in prices of goods can be expected. |
| B．American companies may locate their offshore factories in Africa. |
| C．Efficient transportation makes bulk buying convenient for Americans. |
| D．Inflation has a role to play in the shake-up of globalization. |
| A．Katherine Tai takes a neutral position concerning globalization. |
| B．American factory workers face heightened competition from domestic rivals. |
| C．American consumers generally benefited from global integration. |
| D．Exported goods lead to the lower wages of average Americans. |
| A．The Era of Cheap and Plenty May be Ending |
| B．Globalization: Crisis or Opportunities? |
| C．New Winners in the Post-globalization Era |
| D．The Future of Global Economy |
With the development of economy, people tend to pursue high quality living conditions. Most of the parents try their best to offer their children comfortable circumstances, but they seldom have time to stay with their children. In my opinion, no matter how busy they are, they should make the best use of their time to stay with their children.
Every time when parents take them to the amusement park, help them to prepare their birthday parties, applaud for them when they are competing in the sports meeting, the time they spend with children will become treasure in their memories.
Children need the direction from their parents. There is some wrong behavior in our society, such as dishonesty, violence and so on. Children have weak resistance in defending this negative influence. In this case, parents’ instructions seem to be very important to children’s growth. Parents should sit down and talk with them about what they should do and should not do.
I do not deny that there are some disadvantages in spending too much time with children. Some parents restrict their children, and give them little freedom to develop their interests. Therefore, I emphasize that parents should educate and instruct their children appropriately in their spare time apart from their busy work.
写作内容：你将参加一场主题辩论会，主题为“父母该为孩子的行为习惯负责吗?”参赛前，你要查阅相关资料，并准备你的主题发言，请仔细阅读下文，然后完成以下的任务：
以约30个词概括短文的要点；
然后以约120个词就“父母该为孩子的行为负责吗?”这个主题发表你的看法，并包含以下的内容要点：
你认为父母是否该对此负责，并阐明你的理由；
你对父母们的建议。
写作要求：你可使用实例或其它论述方法支持你的论点，也可以参照阅读材料的内容，但不能抄袭阅读材料中的句子。
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4 . The rise of body neutrality You define (定义) beauty yourself. You are more than a number in measurement. Love yourself the way you are. Body positive messages like theses seem to be everywhere from social media to TV advertisements.
Body positivity’s aim to boost acceptance and appreciation of a variety of body types and sizes may explain why it has such a broad appeal. While some find the body positivity movement to be helpful, others have begun calling the movement toxic and suggesting it may be time to move on from this way of thinking.
More recently, people have voiced concerns. Some feel that the focus on loving your looks actually strengthens society’s stress on appearance over other values. Much body positivity content in advertisements may bring a stereotype (刻板印象) to viewers because it does little to challenge the hidden assumption that people are valued mainly for their appearance. Therefore, the movement still encourages people to be graceful and engage in beauty practices from head to toe. And if you fail to be body positive, it’s you that are at fault.
Many are now moving away from the body positivity movement and the pressures that come from it entirely, and instead are getting behind the body neutrality (中立) movement. Instead of focusing on physical appearance, body neutrality is a profound idea that we can exist without having to think too much about our bodies.
We are all more than just our bodies. We are complicated beings with a range of emotions and feelings about our bodies. And because body neutrality de-emphasizes (不强调) the focus on appearance, it motivates us to better acknowledge all the things our bodies are able to do. Being grateful for being able to take up your hobbies and appreciating your body for what it’s capable of doing are both examples of body neutrality.
Body neutrality can be beneficial to us. It is associated with the positive body image and mental well-being. The good news is that there are many ways you can develop body neutrality, including writing-based treatment, yoga and spending time in nature.
1. What does the underlined word “toxic” in Paragraph 2 mean?| A．Inspiring. | B．Dangerous. | C．Influential. | D．Useless. |
| A．It upsets overweight people. |
| B．It overstates the role of advertising. |
| C．It attracts too much attention to appearance. |
| D．It challenges the traditional standards of beauty. |
| A．Keep fit and you will be confident. |
| B．Accept the imperfection of your body. |
| C．Appreciate your abilities instead of your body. |
| D．Treasure your appearance rather than other values. |
| A．①②/③④/⑤/⑥ | B．①/②③/④⑤⑥ |
| C．①/②/③/④⑤/⑥ | D．①②/③/④⑤/⑥ |
5 . Virtual reality is quickly becoming the new technological frontier. Tech companies everywhere seem to be racing to get their foot in the VR door. However, virtual reality has a set of challenges and hurdles that it must overcome in order to work well. It should be noted that VR is heavily dependent on being very fast, very accurate and very good-looking. If it isn’t, the viewer will feel motion sick or disconnected from the world that VR is trying to create.
Now that we can actually build VR headsets that begin to meet these requirements, we are seeing a rising interest in VR. As it rises, so does the interest in creating new media to be experienced in using virtual reality. Journalism is a medium built on relevance. Journalists should always be finding new ways to tell stories and deliver content. It is a goldmine for storytelling. What better ways to tell a story to someone than to put them right in the center of it?
Virtual reality is a powerful tool for journalists. The consumer isn’t just reading or watching something play out; they’re experiencing it. The immersive nature of VR allows for people to connect with the subject matter on a much deeper level than just reading about it. The experience is emotional, speaking more to our instinct than our intellect. The possibilities for storytelling here are legion, and any storyteller wanting to do something more interesting than their peers should surely be considering the sheer power of VR.
The question of virtual reality, though, is not how powerful it is. That is immediately apparent. The question of VR is one of viability and availability. Telling stories must be easy to do, and access to those stories must be readily available. This is the biggest challenge that VR faces. If the tools to tell a story with VR aren’t easy to pick up and learn, VR will fail. If VR technology isn’t both top-of-the-line and affordable, VR will fail.
Accessibility was one concern for Thomas Hallaq, assistant professor of journalism and mass communications, who said that current VR technology, is pretty exclusive right now. Despite that, he said he doesn’t think the exclusivity of this technology will be a problem in the long run.
“I think it’s very promising,” Hallaq said. “We’re seeing more technology become accessible, and more people having access to that technology. Just look at smartphones.” Like radio, TV and the Internet before it, virtual reality will change the way we tell stories.
1. Why is VR considered a powerful tool for journalism?| A．Because it is an exclusively new tool. |
| B．Because it is very powerful and popular. |
| C．Because people can experience the story in person. |
| D．Because it is very fast, accurate and good-looking. |
| A．How powerful and interesting it can be. |
| B．Whether people will have easy access to it. |
| C．Whether qualified VR headsets can be built. |
| D．What new ways people will find to deliver content. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Neutral. | C．Pessimistic. | D．Concerned. |
| A．The Wide Popularity of Virtual Reality |
| B．The Future Development of Virtual Reality |
| C．Challenges and Hurdles of Virtual Reality |
| D．Virtual Reality is the Future of Storytelling |
1. How many people are reported to use their phones in public places?
| A．Nearly a half. | B．More than half. | C．Almost everyone. |
| A．Talking in a cafe. |
| B．Walking down the street. |
| C．Spending too much time on phones. |
| A．Listen to music. | B．Check emails. | C．Text. |
7 . In the more and more competitive service industry, it is no longer enough to promise customer satisfaction. Today, customer “delight” is what companies are trying to achieve in order to keep and increase market share.
It is accepted in the marketing industry, and confirmed by a number of researches, that customers receiving good service will promote business by telling up to 12 other people; those treated badly will tell their tales of woe to up to 20 people. Interestingly, 80 percent of people who feel their complaints are handled fairly will stay loyal.
New lineages for customer care have come when people can obtain goods and services through telephone call centers and the Internet. For example, many companies now have to invest (投资) a lot of money in information technology and staff training in order to cope with the “phone rage (愤怒)” — caused by delays in answering calls ,being cut off in mid-conversation or left waiting for long periods.
“Many people do not like talking to machines,” says Dr. Storey Senior Lecturer in Marketing at City University Business School, “Banks, for example, encourage staff at call centers to use customer data to establish instant and good relationship with them. The aim is to make the customer feel they know you and that you can trust — the sort of comfortable feelings people have during face-to-face chats with their local branch manager.”
Recommended ways of creating customer delight include: under-promising and over-delivering (saying that a repair will be come out within five hours, but getting it done within two ); replacing a faulty product immediately: throwing in a gift voucher (购物礼券) as an unexpected “thank you” to regular customers; and always returning calls, even when they are complaints.
Aiming for customer delight is all very well, but if services do not reach the high level promised, disappointment or worse will be the result. This can be eased by offering an apology and an explanation of why the service did not meet usual standards with empathy (for example, “I know how you must feel”), and possible solutions (replacement, compensation or whatever suggests best meets the case).
Airlines face some of the toughest challenges over customer care. Fierce competition has convinced them that delighting passengers is an important marketing tool, while there is great potential for customer anger over delays caused by weather, unclaimed luggage and technical problems.
For British Airways staff, a winning telephone style is considered vital in handling the large volume of calls about bookings and flight times. They are trained to answer quickly, with their name, job title and a “we are here to help” attitude. The company has invested heavily in information technology to make sure that information is available instantly on screen.
British Airways also says its customer care policies are applied within the company and staff are taught to regard each other as customers requiring the highest standards of service.
Customer care is obviously here to stay and it would be a foolish company that used slogans such as “we do as we please”. On the other hand, the more customers are promised, the greater the risk of disappointment.
1. We can learn from Paragraph 2 that .| A．well-treated customers promote business |
| B．unsatisfied customers receive better service |
| C．Satisfied customers catch more attention |
| D．complaining customers are hard to satisfy |
| A．customers often use phones to express their anger |
| B．customer care becomes more demanding |
| C．people still prefer to buy goods online |
| D．customers rely on their phones to obtain services |
| A．“I’m sorry for the delay.” |
| B．“I appreciate your understanding.” |
| C．“I know how upset you must be.” |
| D．“I know it’s our fault.” |
| A．Face-to-face service creates comfortable feelings among customers. |
| B．A company should promise less but do more in a competitive market. |
| C．Companies that promise more will naturally attract more customers. |
| D．Customer delight is more important for airlines than for banks. |
It was a bright spring afternoon along the Maryland coast, and Jonathan Bauer, 51, and his 13-year-old daughter, Ava, were enjoying it. They were driving with the windows down as they headed home on the Route 90 Bridge, which goes across the shallow waters of Assawoman Bay. Suddenly, the calm was disturbed by a loud sound.
Not far ahead of them, a black car was rushing from one side of the road to the other. To the Bauer’s horror, it knocked into a concrete barrier(水泥路障), and then came to rest over the edge (边沿) of the bridge. Bauer hit the brakes in time to avoid the vehicles in his path, but a white car struck his car.
Bauer stopped the car. “Ava, are you OK?” he asked. She was shaken, but unhurt. He ran to the white car. “Are you OK?” he asked the driver. She nodded, too shocked to speak.
And then an extremely loud sound came from the black car, whose back part hung out, 30 or more feet above the waters of the bay (海湾). The driver’s door opened and a man climbed out. He dropped to the ground, and then ran to the edge of the bridge. Bauer ran up beside him. The man pointed down, saying something in Spanish. In the water was a car seat. Next to it, a girl, about two years old, floated on her back, kicking and screaming.
Matters quickly went from bad to frightening when the little girl rolled over onto her stomach. Bauer waited for the driver to do something, but he didn’t move. Maybe he was in shock.
“Ava!” Bauer shouted, and removed his shoes. “Stay by the car and call 911!”
He held no idea about his chances jumping from this height into such shallow waters. Four feet of depth was the most he could hope for — he’d gotten his boat stuck here a time or two. And were there rocks in the shallow waters?
注意：
续写词数应为150左右。
He climbed onto the edge and jumped.
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A moment later a boat took Bauer and the rescued girl aboard.
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9 . Inconvenient Truths
If doctors lie, it is surely inexcusable. One of the basic
Mrs Walton was in her eighties and
Mrs Walton is one of the dementia (痴呆) sufferers, who lose their short-term memory and the memory of
They look at their adult children
Sometimes honesty is
| A．expressions | B．expectations | C．reputations | D．regulations |
| A．objected | B．contributed | C．admitted | D．appealed |
| A．ashamed | B．delighted | C．nervous | D．desperate |
| A．cruelty | B．kindness | C．pain | D．pleasure |
| A．recent | B．popular | C．distant | D．major |
| A．opposition | B．connection | C．attention | D．similarity |
| A．attacked | B．isolated | C．surrounded | D．attracted |
| A．puzzled | B．satisfied | C．amused | D．motivated |
| A．cut off | B．thrown away | C．put down | D．left behind |
| A．knowledge | B．control | C．imagination | D．record |
| A．brief | B．constant | C．permanent | D．secret |
| A．Competing | B．Plotting | C．Matching | D．Mixing |
| A．unnecessarily | B．inaccurately | C．impatiently | D．impolitely |
| A．ahead of time | B．in no time | C．for the last time | D．for the first time |
| A．mostly | B．informally | C．simply | D．finally |
10 . Traditionally, the number of meaningful social relationships one can maintain is around 150. This concept finds its roots in the natural development of the human brain. However, in the digital age, where our social connections extend far beyond the geographical boundaries (界限), we easily create more connections with the help of the rising online platforms. Then, a question arises: Does the digital age rewrite the rules of social connection?
A study published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking explored the effect of social media usage on the size of social circles and the closeness of relationships. The researchers found that more time spent on social media made for a larger number of online “friends,” but not a larger number of offline friends. Further, the findings were not linked to feelings of closeness towards online or offline friends.
Another study from the European Journal of Information Systems studied the link between social media usage and “social overload” — the feeling that too much of the energy for socializing is being used up by online relationships. The authors found that social media usage directly contributed to the experience of social overload, related to digital tiredness and dissatisfaction with social media.
With social media platforms rising, one’s ability to connect with people challenges the traditional concept. The brain, used to manage a limited number of relationships, now fights against the difficulties of dealing with a large number of digital connections, leading to a less attention and feeling investment (投入) in a relationship. And the online shallow connections can not develop meaningful, lasting relationships that stand the test of digital distance.
Therefore, in the digital age’s social whirlwind, instead of drowning (淹没) in a sea of weak interaction (互动), choose to engage in meaningful conversations and focus on the handful of relationships that truly fit your heart. Hug the beauty of face-to-face connections, allowing the richness of human interaction to flower beyond the digital world. By doing so, we create digital and physical spaces that truly improve our well-being.
1. Why did the author mention the traditional concept in the first paragraph?| A．To tell a story. | B．To develop the topic. |
| C．To show his sincerity. | D．To give an example. |
| A．Online relationships were closer. |
| B．Spending more time online improved one’s health. |
| C．Social media usage had no effect on one’s social circles. |
| D．The large online social circles didn’t mean the large number of offline friends. |
| A．It resulted in one’s less attention to a relationship. |
| B．It caused the brain to break down and damaged the health. |
| C．It led to expression errors when one socialized with friends. |
| D．It developed shallow connections that stand the test of distance. |
| A．Offline Relationships: The Source of Well-being. |
| B．Social Overload: Do You Have Too Many Friends? |
| C．Social Media: The Bridge of People’s Connections? |
| D．Online Friends: The Cause of Digital Dissatisfaction. |
