1 . In our information-driven society, shaping our worldview through the media is similar to forming an opinion about someone solely based on a picture of their foot. While the media might not deliberately deceive us, it often fails to provide a comprehensive view of reality.
Consequently, the question arises: Where, then, shall we get our information from if not from the media? Who can we trust? How about experts- people who devote their working lives to understanding their chosen slice of the world? However, even experts can fall prey to the allure of oversimplification, leading to the “single perspective instinct” that hampers (阻碍) our ability to grasp the intricacies (错综复杂) of the world.
Simple ideas can be appealing because they offer a sense of understanding and certainty. And it is easy to take off down a slippery slope, from one attention-grabbing simple idea to a feeling that this idea beautifully explains, or is the beautiful solution for, lots of other things. The world becomes simple that way.
Yet, when we embrace a singular cause or solution for all problems, we risk oversimplifying complex issues. For instance, championing the concept of equality may lead us to view all problems through the lens of inequality and see resource distribution as the sole panacea. However, such rigidity prevents us from seeing the multidimensional nature of challenges and hinders true comprehension of reality. This “single perspective instinct” ultimately clouds our judgment and restricts our capacity to tackle complex issues effectively. Being always in favor of or always against any particular idea makes you blind to information that doesn’t fit your perspective. This is usually a bad approach if you would like to understand reality.
Instead, constantly test your favorite ideas for weaknesses. Be humble about the extent of your expertise. Be curious about new information that doesn’t fit, and information from other fields. And rather than talking only to people who agree with you, or collecting examples that fit your ideas, consult people who contradict you, disagree with you, and put forward different ideas as a great resource for understanding the world. If this means you don’t have time to form so may opinions, so what?
Wouldn’t you rather have few opinions that are right than many that are wrong?
1. What does the underlined word “allure” in Para.2 probably mean?| A．Temptation. | B．Tradition. | C．Convenience. | D．Consequence. |
| A．They meet people’s demand for high efficiency. |
| B．They generate a sense of complete understanding. |
| C．They are raised and supported by multiple experts. |
| D．They reflect the opinions of like-minded individuals. |
| A．Simplifying matters releases energy for human brains. |
| B．Constant tests on our ideas help make up for our weakness. |
| C．A well-founded opinion counts more than many shallow ones. |
| D．People who disagree with us often have comprehensive views. |
| A．Embracing Disagreement: Refusing Overcomplexity |
| B．Simplifying Information: Enhancing Comprehension |
| C．Understanding Differences: Establishing Relationships |
| D．Navigating Complexity: Challenging Oversimplification |
2 . If you’re reading this, it’s safe to assume you arrived by internet.
Maybe you caught the headline as it raced by on Twitter. Or you might be taking a break from watching a boring movie on Netflix.
It doesn’t matter. Because according to a new study, it all adds up to the same thing: one distraction（分心的事情）after another.
And the thing is, they’re welcome distractions. Because, as the research — published this week in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology — notes, people will do just about anything to avoid being left to their own thoughts.
For their study, researchers designed a sample test for more than 2,557 participants in 11 countries. They divided their test subjects into two groups. In the first group, people were asked to spend 10 to 15 minutes “entertaining themselves with their thoughts as best they could.”
Just sit back and think about things. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Well, not really. The second group — the one where people were told to surf the Net, play a video game, or even read a book — reported having much more fun. They scored more highly on entertainment and lower on boredom. And the preference for distraction seemed to be a global phenomenon, which may come as a surprise to Italians who are famously brilliant at doing nothing.
“The preference for doing external（外部的）activities such as reading, watching TV, or surfing the internet rather than ‘just thinking’ appears to be strong throughout the world,” the researchers note in the study.
But there does seem to be an important thing that hasn’t been included in the study. Shouldn’t the quality of thoughts matter? If you’ve got something positive to think about — say, how you’re going to spend your vacation or the great screenplay you’ve already half-written in your head — why are you reading this?
On the other hand, if you are always bothered by negative thoughts — a sad or painful experience, perhaps — by all means, keep scrolling（翻网页）.
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to take up much of your time here; it’s a short study that gets to the point in a hurry. Don’t worry though. There’s a whole world of distractions out there. Say, have you seen that ship teetering at the brink of Niagara Falls? And how about those charming cows? Bet you didn’t know they could smell you from six miles away.
And that’s something to think about.
1. Why would the Italians be surprised at the phenomenon?| A．They prefer reading books to surfing the Net. |
| B．They’re convinced that thinking is significant. |
| C．They are used to being left to their own thoughts. |
| D．They seldom entertain themselves by surfing the Net. |
| A．By reference research. | B．By comparative study. |
| C．By theoretical analysis. | D．By experimental study. |
| A．The quality of thoughts. | B．The cause of the phenomenon. |
| C．The solution to the problem. | D．The kinds of distractions. |
| A．Worried. | B．Disappointed. |
| C．Serious. | D．Humorous. |
3 . Did you ever have to say “no” to somebody? Such as a classmate who asks to go to lunch with you? New research suggests that, at least socially, a rejection (拒绝) should not include an apology. In other words, saying you are sorry does not make the person being rejected feel any better. In fact, it might make the rejected person feel worse. That is surprising. Many people consider it to be good manners to say they are sorry when they turn down a request.
Gili Freedman is doing some related research at Dartmouth College. For her research, she asked over 1,000 people to respond to different examples of social rejection. In one example, the researchers asked people for their reaction (反应）after a person named Taylor asked to join a co-worker who went out to lunch every Friday. And Taylor was told “no”. But in some cases, the person rejecting Taylor offered an apology. In other cases, the people doing the rejection did not say they were sorry. People were asked how they would feel if they were being turned down, just as Taylor was. Most said they would be more hurt by a rejection with an apology than a rejection without an apology.
Freedman said the reason is that apologies make people feel like they need to say that the rejection was okay— even when they felt like it was not okay. Rejection without an apology lets them express their feelings of disappointment, hurt or anger more easily. Freedman also said that an apology often makes the person doing the rejection feel better—even as it makes the person being rejected feel worse.
Her research deals only with social communication. A business situation might be very different. “If a manager rejects a job interviewee or a boss must tell an employee that he or she is being fired from a job,” Freedman said, “reactions to apologies may be different.”
1. Why do people say they are sorry when they express rejection?| A．Because they think it is more polite. |
| B．Because they think it helps them express their dislike better. |
| C．Because they think apologies are the basis of communication. |
| D．Because they think it sounds more comfortable for the listener. |
| A．rejected others without an apology |
| B．offered an apology when rejecting others |
| C．would be more hurt by a rejection with an apology |
| D．were asked to answer the question in different situations |
| A．It makes the rejection more acceptable. |
| B．It makes a good impression on the listener. |
| C．It makes the communication more pleasant. |
| D．It makes the person doing the rejecting feel better. |
| A．The effect of an apology during a rejection. |
| B．Gili Freedman’s research on business situations. |
| C．A rejection with an apology in a business situation. |
| D．The difference between a social situation and a business one. |
4 . Many small-business owners watched recent revelations about Facebook with mixed emotions. Like most Americans, they were surprised to discover how much information the social media giant collected on its users. But when it comes to small business, Facebook is a transformative advertising platform for small businesses, not easy to replace.
Let's say you own a small seafood restaurant, and Tuesday nights are $1 oyster （牡蛎）nights. Traditional advertising methods cost a lot and must be planned long in advance, and ifs hit-or-miss as to whether you actually get in front of oyster eaters. With Facebook, on Tuesday morning, with a few clicks, you can target Facebook users in your Zip code who love oysters and eating out （and are over age 21, so they can buy drinks, which is why you have $1 oyster nights）. And you can do this for as little as S20.
In my work with small businesses for more than 25 years, I've never seen a more effective method of micro-targeting prospects. Though Facebook is an effective tool for small-business, advertising does not justify （证明合理）the company's collecting vast amounts of data or allowing users' data to be invaded.
"Our primary concern was people's experience on Facebook," said Dan Levy, Facebook's Vice President. "Our teams have also been speaking to small businesses, and they want to make sure we're addressing the situation, and we are."
One concern small businesses want Facebook to address is protecting their uploaded lists. No one wants their customers' information misused or accessed by others, especially competitors.
Small-business owners are rightfully concerned about privacy. They don't want Facebook to know everything about them, and they don't want their customer lists to be let out to others.
But small businesses don't want to lose this effective advertising medium, either. Most Facebook ads are not invasive or offensive. And many receivers may actually benefit from receiving highly targeted ads—after all, those oyster lovers like learning about Tuesday night— $1 oyster night.
1. How does the author explain Facebook's function in Paragraph 2?| A．By performing an experiment. | B．By leading a survey・ |
| C．By analyzing the data・ | D．By giving an example. |
| A．Objective. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Doubtful | D．Respectful. |
| A．What people experience on Facebook. |
| B．That Facebook updates the lists constantly. |
| C．That their competitors benefit more from Facebook. |
| D．That Facebook will give away their customer lists. |
| A．Facebook is benefiting small businesses |
| B．Facebook, a mixed bag for small businesses |
| C．Facebook is protecting customers5 privacy |
| D．Facebook, a powerful advertisement tool |
5 . Millions of Americans sit behind a computer screen, chained to their desk all day because the vast majority of stable, high-paying professions(职业) are “office jobs”. However, having a successful career does not require you to sit behind a desk and plug away at a computer all day.
In fact, there are a large number of non-desk jobs in a variety of industries that are growing and offering workers a direct path to the middle class, according to a new analysis of labor market information from CareerBuilder. While most of the highest-paying non-desk jobs are medical professions that require a doctoral or professional degree, there are 170 non-desk professions that pay $15 per hour or more, do not require a bachelor’s degree(学士学位) for a typical entry-level position, and have seen at least 6 percent job growth over the last four years.
“The US workforce has gradually changed to office-based work because of the rise of the professional service economy and productivity gains associated with information technology,” Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources Officer at CareerBuilder, said in a statement. “But some of the healthiest areas of job growth year after year are in middle-skill professions that don’t require workers to sit in front of computer monitors and phones for 40 hours a week.”
Here are the top-paying jobs that don’t require you to work at a desk in various kinds — none of which require a four-year college degree — and their hourly salary(工资) and growth rate since 2010: professional assistants(助理) : $26.57, 14 percent; elevator repairers: $37.81, 6 percent; mechanical engineering technicians: $25.19, 10 percent; and electromechanical(电动机械的) technicians: $24.68, 8 percent.
While they tend to pay less than traditional office jobs, non-desk professions provide a variety of benefits. Haefner points to a 2014 CareerBuilder survey that discovered workers who don’t work at a desk all day are less likely to complain about their work environment and less likely to report being overweight.
1. What does the underlined phrase “plug away” in the first paragraph probably mean?| A．Turn off a switch. | B．Look for a job. |
| C．Keep on working | D．Give up working |
| A．A non-desk job may provide you with a middle-class life. |
| B．The last four years has seen an increase in desk jobs. |
| C．The college degree is the ticket to a position. |
| D．A non-desk job cannot offer you a secure life. |
| A．High salary. | B．Medicine. |
| C．Information technology. | D．Service industries. |
| A．Elevator repairers. | B．Professional assistants. |
| C．Electromechanical technicians. | D．Mechanical engineering technicians. |
6 . As the international demand for narrative(叙事的) film/TV content continues to increase with popular streaming services like Netflix and others the two questions then come: will the coming generations receive most of their entertainment through visual means rather than through the written word and will such an increase of narrative film/ TV reduce the importance of reading?
Growing examples of this trend include the diminishment(减少) of fiction in the common core (核心的)curriculum, the ever－rising culture of computer games, the wave of streaming services of wide international reach, and movies filled with special effects made for children and teenagers. Nor must we ignore the economic dangers that lie ahead for the written word. The narrative film industry is a moneymaker that dwarfs(使相形见绌) the publishing industry.
The other underlying question, of course, is “does it really matter if the written word bows to the world of film/TV?” From my point of view, any diminishment of fiction delivered by words is a loss for mankind.
There is no greater human feature than the imagination. It lies at the very soul of the human species. It is the brain’s most powerful engine. It is the essential muscle of life and like all muscles it must be exercised and strengthened.
Writing and reading are the principal tools that inspire, create and empower our imagination. Anything that diminishes that power is the enemy of mankind.
It should be known that I am not opposed to new media and technological advances. Instead, I have always felt it necessary to adapt to advancing technology. In fact, a number of my novels are in various stages of development for film, TV, and live stage productions. My hope is that the written word will only stand to be complemented(补充)by its visual counterparts(对应物), not pushed to the edge of extinction.
Of course, there are those who will present arguments for the superiority of the moving image over the written word. Each has its place. My argument is for finding the right balance between it and the moving image.
1. In what way does narrative film/TV embarrass the written word?| A．Economic benefits | B．International reach |
| C．Cultural influence | D．Educational importance |
| A．It strengthens our muscles. | B．It helps sharpen imagination. |
| C．It distinguishes man from each other. | D．It paves the way for narrative film/TV. |
| A．Cautious | B．Skeptical |
| C．Positive | D．Critical |
| A．The fate of reading. | B．The extinction of fiction. |
| C．The impact of the written word. | D．The future of the moving image. |
7 . Dyeing eggs has long been an Easter tradition, but it’s the dyeing of baby chicks that is upsetting in some states.
The dye, which is often ordinary food coloring, is either injected into eggs being hatched or sprayed onto newly hatched chicks. Although hatchery owners say the practice is harmless, critics argue that spraying the birds with color is stressful and that dyeing the animals transforms them into something attractive that can be thrown away when their colorful feathers disappear.
“These are living creature and dyeing them sends out a message saying that they are more of a new and unusual object than a living animal,” said Dr. Marc Copper, senior scientific manager for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Dyed chicks --- and sometimes rabbits --- have been a traditional part of the Easter holiday in some parts of the world, but the practice has gone largely underground in the U.S. because many people view it as cruel.
Today, about half of U.S. states ban the dyeing of animals, but last month the Florida Legislature passed a bill to remove the state’s 45-year-old ban. The drive to end the law wasn’t related to Easter chicks; it was done at the request of a dog groomer(美容师) who wanted to enter pet beauty contests.
Florida governor Rick Scott must agree to remove the ban, which would be lifted July 1, but the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida(ARFF) has asked him not to remove the ban. In addition to allowing animals dyeing, the law would also lift a ban on selling baby animals as pets, and the organization fears that next year the state could see hundreds of dyed baby chicks on the market.
As long as the dye is not poisonous, experts say the birds’ health isn’t affected, and there are scientific reasons to dye animals. Wildlife researchers often inject eggs with dye to track birds in the wild, and teachers have dyed chicks for educational purposes. However, animal advocates are quick to point out that dyeing baby chicks for Easter isn’t educational --- it’s done simply to earn profits.
1. What can we infer from Cooper’s words?| A．He finds it dangerous to dye eggs. |
| B．He likes dyed birds’ colorful feathers. |
| C．He is in support of the hatchery owners. |
| D．He is among the critics of dyeing animals. |
| A．They are mainly sold in secret. |
| B．They are as common as dyed eggs. |
| C．They are welcomed by most Americans. |
| D．They are getting more popular in the world. |
| A．To protect Easter chicks. |
| B．To ban pet beauty contests. |
| C．To make animals dyeing legal. |
| D．To prevent the sale of baby animals. |
| A．Tolerance. |
| B．Opposition. |
| C．Doubt. |
| D．Caution. |
