1 . When we think about lives filled with meaning, we often focus on people whose grand contributions benefited humanity. Abraham Lincoln,Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela surely felt they had a worthwhile life. But how about us ordinary people,struggling in a typical existence?
There is an important element to consider. Think about the first butterfly you stop to admire after a long winter or imagine the scenery at the top of a hill after a fresh hike. Sometimes existence delivers us small moments of beauty. When people are open to appreciating such experiences, these moments may enhance how they view their life. This element is defined as EA (experiential appreciation) by Joshua Hicks, a psychological professor at Texas A &M University.
Recently, he and his research team set out to figure out whether EA was related to a person’s sense of meaning in a series of studies that involved more than 3,000 participants. At an initial test, researchers had participants rate their agreement of different coping strategies to relieve their stress. They found people who managed stress by focusing on their appreciation for life’s beauty also reported experiencing life as highly meaningful.
Researchers then conducted a series of experiments, in which they gave participants specific tasks and, once more, asked them to report how strongly they identified with statements linked to purpose, etc. In one case, participants who watched an awe-inspiring video reported having a greater sense of EA and meaning in life, compared with those who watched more neutral videos. After reflecting on the results collected from the participants, researchers confirmed their original theory.
But applying that insight can be difficult.Our modern, fast-paced, project-oriented lifestyles fill the day with targets and goals. We are on the go, and we attempt to maximize output both at work and at leisure.
This focus on future outcomes makes it all too easy to miss what is happening right now. Yet life happens in the present moment. We should slow down, let life surprise us and embrace the significance in the everyday life.
1. Why are the butterfly and the scenery on a hill mentioned in paragraph 2?A.To introduce a concept. |
B.To attract readers’ interest. |
C.To demonstrate the beauty of nature. |
D.To show the necessity of protecting nature. |
A.By designing different strategies to reduce stress |
B.By studying previous research data. |
C.By shooting videos starring the participants. |
D.By analyzing the response from the participants. |
A.A person who always gets her life well-organized. |
B.A person who often hears motivating speeches. |
C.A person who leads a fast-paced life |
D.A person who always expects future results. |
A.No pains, no gains. |
B.Those who believe in their ability can do anything. |
C.Live your life one day at a time. |
D.Being on sea, sail; being on land, settle. |
2 . Historically, only local governments worried about a widespread food crisis, but today, the rapidly rising food prices and the resulting food crisis can quickly be a worldwide phenomenon. Over the next 20 years, the fight to feed the world will be a huge challenge facing the global economy.
The first solution lies in the combined effect of money and time.
Another way to solve the crisis is to double food production in developing countries.
While we may not be seeing all the symptoms of food shortage, we must be clear-eyed in our current support of food production. It is obvious that we will face a severe problem, but the problem is solvable.
A.Since you think it beneficial to the whole world |
B.What about developing economy to solve the crisis |
C.If we are to reach our goal and prevent a global food crisis |
D.How can we relieve the current crisis and avoid future risks |
E.The goal needs an enormous investment in agriculture from various sources |
F.Developing a national strategy to reduce food loss and waste is also useful to handle the crisis |
G.Some countries like India have realized this fact and are giving more financial support to agriculture |
3 . When children are growing up, what they see in their families is what they tend to consider normal. That means family traditions and other activities are generally seen as just normal. If a family eats dinner together or spends time talking with each other, that’s what the child absorbs and internalizes.
Our family traditions are declining as we move toward a more isolated (孤立的) society. How many families no longer share meals around the dinner table, instead choosing to watch TV or text friends on their phones? This tends to isolate and disconnect family members from each other. It also stops families from communicating and catching up on each other’s lives.
For those of us who grew up in a household where families shared meals together and spent time talking with each other, chances are that we are passing along those traditions to our own families. The problem is, children today often want to spend their time in front of screens rather than people. Cell phones, computers and other attention-grabbing devices often mean parents get resistance to traditional family togetherness time. This pressure can lead to parents giving in and letting children do what they want rather than fight with them over sitting at the dinner table. This creates a new normal that no longer values the idea of families and the society at large, connecting with each other.
Family and community traditions are important, not just for the current shared experiences, but for the future as well. Since children internalize their experiences, that means generations to come may not know what it’s like to sit together around the dinner table and truly connect as a family.
That is why it is so important that parents and caregivers create boundaries of behavior that help to keep family traditions alive. If you remember the shared experiences you had with your parents and grandparents, you know the important bonding that took place during those times. It is this shared experience that brings people closer together and is well worth preserving.
1. What is the phenomenon the author describes at the beginning of the text?A.The increase in shared family meals means a shift towards isolation. |
B.Increased use of technology replaces traditional family interactions. |
C.More and more children prefer to spend quality time with the family. |
D.Family members are more likely to share their updates with each other. |
A.The inability of parents to understand technology. |
B.The challenge of preserving traditional family values. |
C.The influence of technology on children’s education. |
D.The necessity of controlling children’s digital devices. |
A.They will be more addicted to advanced technology. |
B.They will maintain stronger and closer family bonds. |
C.They may create new and irreplaceable family traditions. |
D.They may not understand the value of family gatherings. |
A.Insignificant | B.Irresponsible |
C.Crucial | D.Overemphasized |
4 . Bullet comments—comments which fly across the screen on certain video platforms—represent a ·modern approach to communication that young people use in cyberspace to express their ideas, emotions and feelings. When looking back, however, they are a good reminder of what was hot or trending in the past year.
On Dec 15,2023, Bilibili, a Chinese video-sharing platform, picked “Ah?” as the Bullet Comment of the Year. In 2023, “Ah?” appeared more than 13.2 million times on Bilibili as a bullet comment, according to Dazhong Daily.
Today, young people in China use “Ah?” to express their surprise and amazement. User Mo Xin filmed himself writing down the ancient Chinese text Hard Is the Road to Shu (《蜀道难》) in one stroke (一笔) and subsequently uploaded the video to Bilibili. This feat (壮举) resulted in the video winning the most “Ah?”bullet comments on the platform.
China’s huge technological advancements have also generated “Ah?” comments from Bilibili users. In August, China made a breakthrough in controllable nuclear fusion (可控核聚变) technology. Its new-generation “artificial sun” Huanliu-3 looks to open new doors in the world of nuclear fusion. Videos announcing this news were inundated (淹没) in “Ah?” comments.
Though simple and easily understandable, “Ah?” provides insights into young people’s interests. Their focus extends beyond mere entertainment, however. They also, use “Ah?” to engage with. commentaries, and scientific discoveries, indicating a deeper, more serious layer of interest. These “Ah?” comments reveal that young people are attentive to the world around them. “Ah?” has become their unique way of responding to contemporary events, using it as a tool to document today’s history.
Every year brings a new bullet comment of the year, but what never changes is how young people want their voices to be heard. Do you still remember which video got you to send an “Ah?” in 2023?
1. What do we know about “Bullet comments” according to the text?A.They will remind others of your opinions. |
B.They are an easy way to interact with others. |
C.They enable us to think about the popular events. |
D.They are used in young people’s daily communication. |
A.To prove the function of “Ah?”. | B.To argue for the benefit of “Ah?”. |
C.To explain the popularity of “Ah?”. | D.To clarify the development of “Ah?”. |
A.Concrete and modern. | B.Easy and accessible. |
C.Abstract but popular. | D.Unique but meaningless. |
A.Huawei made a breakthrough in 5G. |
B.Southern little potatoes poured in Harbin. |
C.The Moutai-flavoured coffee came into the market. |
D.China, Singapore mutual visa-free policies will boost tourism. |
5 . The study by University of Arizona researchers, published in the Creativity Research Journal, finds that creative people are more likely to fruitfully use idle (空闲的) time by letting one idea lead to another.
“In psychology and neuroscience, most studies on human thoughts either prompt (提示) participants to think in a certain way or ask them to report on thoughts they experienced, but less is known about how thoughts naturally arise and unfold over time in unprompted contexts,” said Jessica Andrews-Hanna, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology and senior author of the paper. “This is where our study comes in.”
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, the participants were asked to voice their thoughts aloud in real time. The recorded files from 81 participants were then transcribed (转录) and analyzed.
The first experiment found that creative people were more engaged in their thoughts when they were left alone without distractions, such as cell phones and the 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,” said Andrews-Hanna.
For the second experiment, over 2,600 adults answered questions through a smartphone app called Mind Window, developed by Andrews-Hanna and her graduate student Eric Andrews. Participants who self-identified as being creative reported being less bored during the idle time.
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,” said Andrews-Hanna.
1. What do Andrews-Hanna’s words in paragraph 2 focus on?A.The necessity of the study. | B.The value of former studies. |
C.The participants of the study. | D.The process of former studies. |
A.They spoke out what they thought. | B.They recorded their own voices. |
C.They remembered some prompts. | D.They finished a number of reports. |
A.They made better use of digital devices. |
B.They enjoyed idle time more than others. |
C.They were more likely to understand others. |
D.They were more willing to share their thoughts. |
A.Educational. | B.Fashionable. | C.Expensive. | D.Beneficial. |
6 . Most children now chat daily either online or through their mobile phones.
Sometimes the online world, just like the real world, can cause problems, such as bullying (恃强凌弱) or arguments.
A.Going online is great fun. |
B.Computer studies are part of schoolwork now. |
C.The language of chat is strange to many parents, too. |
D.There are some websites that are not suitable for the children. |
E.To keep children safe, your management must cover the family computer. |
F.They are connecting to a huge number of other children all over the world. |
G.Surfing the Internet takes up too much of the time that should be spent on lessons. |
7 . People duck responsibility for reasons ranging from simple laziness or a fear of failure, through to a sense of feeling frightened by the scale of a problem or a situation. Whatever the reason, if people fail to take responsibility, they’ll fail in their jobs, they’ll fail their teams, and they’ll fail to grow as individuals. All of this makes it important to address the issue.
Signs of not being responsible
There are several signs to watch out for. These include:
Lacking interest in their work, and in the well-being of the team
Blaming others for mistakes and failures
Missing deadlines
Avoiding challenging tasks and projects, and not taking risks
Regularly complaining about unfair treatment by team leaders and members and engaging in self-pity
Avoiding being dependent on others for work, advice and instructions
Lacking trust in team members and leaders
Ways to encourage responsibility
Start by talking
Your first step is to talk to the individuals concerned. Are there circumstances that are contributing to the situation, or problems that you can deal with?
Communicate roles, responsibilities and objectives
Your people need to know clearly what their roles and responsibilities are. Ensure that you have an up-to-date job description for each team member, and be as detailed as possible about every responsibility that they have.
Re-engage people
Your people will be more engaged if their work is supported with their values. Talk to them to find out what they are. Then, illustrate how their daily tasks and responsibilities go with those values.
Give plenty of praise
Finally, be sure to give your people plenty of praise when they do take responsibility. And help them improve by providing them with regular, effective and fair feedback.
1. What will happen if John fails to take responsibility?A.He can complete his jobs. |
B.His teams may suffer. |
C.His growth will continue. |
D.He will lose his life. |
A.“It’s not my fault.” |
B.“I’ll have it completed tomorrow.” |
C.“It’s tough, but I can manage it.” |
D.“I need resources to solve the problem. ” |
A.Let him know their specific tasks. |
B.Get them to find out the values of work. |
C.Praise them for their good jobs. |
D.Have a chat with him to find out problems. |
1. 调查结果描述;
2. 观点分析;
3. 你的看法。
注意:
1. 词数80左右;
2. 短文题目已给出。
Which Matters More-Major or University?
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9 . “Few articles change owners more frequently than clothes. They travel downwards from grade to grade in the social scale with remarkable regularity,” wrote the journalist Adolphe Smith in 1877 as he traced a coat’s journey in the last century: cleaned, repaired and resold repeatedly; cut down into a smaller item; eventually recycled into new fabric. But with the improvement in people’s living standards, that model is mind-boggling in the era of fast fashion. The average British customer buys four items a month. And it is reported that 350,000 tonnes of used but still wearable clothes go to landfills in the UK each year.
Yet the gradual revival of the second-hand trade has gathered pace in the past few years. At fashion website Asos, sales of vintage clothes (古董衫) have risen by 92%. Clothing was once worn out of necessity, and now it is simply a way of life. Busy families sell used items on eBay, teenagers trade on Depop and some fashion people offer designer labels on Vestiaire Collective. Strikingly, it has become big enough business that mainstream retailers (零售商) want a slice of the action.
For some buyers and sellers, the switch to the second-hand is born of financial difficulties. Only a few have become worried about the impact of their shopping habit on the planet. But the shift is only a partial solution. Some people worry that some mainstream brands may “greenwash” — using second-hand goods to improve their image, rather than engaging more seriously with sustainability.
However, the biggest concern may be that people keep buying because they know they can resell goods, still chasing the pleasure of the next purchase but with an eased conscience (愧疚). Boohoo, a powerful fast fashion company, has seen sales and profits rise, despite concerns about environmental problems in its supply chain that led to an investigation last year.
A new Netflix series, Worn Stories, documents the emotional meanings that clothes can have: Each old item is full of memories. Actually, a handbag from a grandmother and a scarf passed on by a father are both valuable for us. A love of style is not a bad or an unimportant thing. But a committed relationship is better than a quick flash. Can we learn to appreciate our own old clothes as well as others’?
1. What does the word “mind-boggling” underlined in paragraph 1 probably mean?A.Unbelievable. | B.Popular. | C.Reasonable. | D.Influential. |
A.old clothes are more popular than new pieces |
B.the online second-hand markets are booming |
C.the fashion world begins to favor vintage clothes |
D.many clothing brands are innovative in their new products |
A.It makes people feel free to pursue fast fashion. |
B.It makes people more cautious about their budgets. |
C.It encourages people to choose eco-friendly clothes. |
D.It pushes people to be more engaged with sustainability. |
A.Old items have lost favor with the public. |
B.Old items are worthy of being long cherished. |
C.Older generations attach great importance to old items. |
D.Older generations care about the quality of their clothes. |
10 . History has not yet
Whatever we
Historian Neil Howe sees
A.remarked | B.convinced | C.guaranteed | D.revealed |
A.numbers | B.houses | C.accommodates | D.contains |
A.peers | B.adolescents | C.folks | D.guys |
A.over | B.without | C.besides | D.beyond |
A.diagnosed | B.dismissed | C.labeled | D.coined |
A.end up | B.consider about | C.appeal for | D.approve of |
A.distribution force | B.purchasing power | C.global view | D.unique outlooks |
A.vivid | B.instructive | C.instant | D.profitable |
A.feed up with | B.put up with | C.make up for | D.identify with |
A.faking | B.revising | C.illustrating | D.maintaining |
A.supervising | B.forming | C.representing | D.promoting |
A.parallels | B.contrasts | C.comparisons | D.reservations |
A.because | B.although | C.while | D.when |
A.emphasis | B.generation | C.intensity | D.cultivation |
A.routes | B.schemes | C.names | D.definitions |