1 . Teenage sailors have been making headlines. A young person alone in a dangerous situation attracts attention — and sponsors. Young sailors also attract divided opinions. For example, Jessica Watson was asked by the local government to cancel her voyage; yet the Prime Minister called her “a hero for young Australians ”when she returned. It seems there is confusion about the competence and independence of young people.
One misunderstanding at least should be cleared up: children are not going to sea in an unregulated way. Consider the case of the Dutch girl, Laura Dekker. When her father agreed to her making a solo (独自的) voyage at age 13, the Dutch Council for Child Care prevented it. The World Sailing Speed Record Council also moved to discourage very young sailors by abolishing their age-based records in early 2009. So community control of children under 16 years already happens. But the case for controlling older teenagers as if they were children is weak.
Teenage brains, so the popular psychologists tell us, are likely to make faulty judgements. But such generalisations often do not apply to specific individuals. Between the ages of 14 and 18, teenagers vary greatly in their abilities. The amount of independence each is allowed should be determined not simply by their age but by negotiations with the relevant, responsible adults. Some teens are certainly inexperienced and capable of childish mistakes, but the ones who attempt dangerous journeys normally do so by winning the confidence of hard-headed and well-qualified adult supporters.
But it is also wrong to think that any 16-year-old can gain achievements as unusual as Jessica Watson's. Watson seems to suggest they can when she calls herself “an ordinary girl who had a dream”. Her intention is to encourage teenagers but this can have the opposite effect of making them feel incapable because remarkable accomplishments are beyond them. Should all teens have such dreams? In reality, individuals face varying circumstances that restrict their dreams.
Teenage sailors should not be judged by preconceived (事 先 形 成 的) views about young people. But nor should “ordinary” teenagers feel pressure to achieve extraordinary personal goals. In fact, I believe the example of solo sailing over stresses individualism. The teenage years are when most of us “ordinary” people learn that we can achieve great things in cooperation with others.
1. What do we know about Jessica Watson?| A．She made a voyage successfully. |
| B．She wants to attract potential sponsors. |
| C．She was discouraged by the Prime Minister. |
| D．She works as a sailor for the local government. |
| A．To praise her for her bravery. |
| B．To stress she was overprotected. |
| C．To show community control of teenage sailors. |
| D．To explain why there is a misunderstanding of teenage sailors. |
| A．It is closely related to their age. |
| B．It often leads to faulty judgements. |
| C．It is developed through independent journeys. |
| D．It differs hugely from individual to individual. |
| A．Be engaged in teamwork. |
| B．Work under certain pressure. |
| C．Avoid having preconceived views. |
| D．Make every effort to achieve their personal goals. |
2 . The ancient tale of the Country Mouse and the Town Mouse was only the first to emphasize rural folk’s supposed simplicity when compared with more complex urbanites. However, neuroscientists announce that, in fact, it is city living that can dull the wits.
The new study led by Dr. Spiers at Nantes University describes how they used a dataset from 4 million people of a computer game, which tests navigating skills by asking players to memorise a map showing the location of checkpoints and then measuring how well players can find them, guided only by their mental map. Dr. Spiers and his colleagues examined the 4 million people from 38 countries, and found that the strongest indicator of a high score was a player’s age — older people performed relatively poorly, which agrees with what researchers know about age-related cognitive (认知的) drop. But the benefit of rural living was strong enough to offset some of that. Data showed that a 70-year-old who grew up in the countryside had the navigational abilities of an average 60-year-old across the dataset.
There is a huge gap between the navigation skills of rural and city people, and the researchers think they know why. Dr. Spiers says that the brain’s navigational abilities probably weaken in the less challenging city environment because they are not being used as much. Although cities may appear more detailed, they also feature more clues to help residents find their way, such as numbered streets. In the countryside, however, one field tends to look much the same as another, so there are fewer landmarks to help guide the way.
Neuroscientists already know that living and working in more complex environments can influence the function and structure of the brain. Brain scans of London taxi drivers, who have gained a good memory of the city’s streets, show that they tend to have an enlarged hippocampus — a region of the brain acting as a neural GPS, sensing position and path on an inside map of the environment.
The harmful effect of city living on navigation is probably most serious in people under 16-18, Dr. Spiers says, because their still-developing brains respond and change the most according to outside stimuli (刺激). And while people who live in cities with young children should not be alarmed, the study does raise some interesting ideas for urban planners: keep their city designs not so simple perhaps. And for everyone else, it might be an idea to turn off maps on the phone.
1. The study led by Dr. Spiers shows that .| A．the seniors score higher at computer games |
| B．rural life benefits people’s sense of direction |
| C．participants are better at finding ways in cities |
| D．the young remember checkpoints better in maps |
| A．achieve | B．check | C．reduce | D．replace |
| A．Taxi drivers. | B．Computer players. |
| C．Teenagers. | D．Adults. |
| A．To introduce a new way of driver training. |
| B．To expose the weakness of living in the urban area. |
| C．To show the contrast between lives in the country and city. |
| D．To present environments’ effect on one’s ability to locate places. |
65-year-old Richard Oslen was interested in adventure and hunting. This time he hunted on a land near Watford City, N.D.. In the cold winter, he set out to try a new place. He didn’t take his cell phone, thinking that it was not a must. He walked more than half a mile with two dogs to a wheat field.
Keeping an eye open for a bird taking flight, Richard stepped on a thin crust of ice on a river. The ice broke into pieces and dropped him four feet to the bottom.
Realizing that he was in trouble and was going to hurt himself, Richard decided to come to land quickly. However, his left leg was hurt, so he had to reach for his shotgun, unload it and use it as a crutch(拐杖). When he was partly up, he lost his balance and fell into the river again. This time one of his feet got stuck between two rocks. Richard told himself that if he didn't get himself out of that river, he wasn't going to have a very good night.
Richard managed to make his foot free and climbed more slowly and carefully. Richard suddenly realized the difficulty of the task before him.The accident happened at about 2 p.m., and it was almost 5 p.m. with the road far away as the sun was setting.
Although Richard met with many difficulties, he didn't give up. He was stubborn and sure that he must be persistent. With his gun's support, he tried jumping with his right leg. Once, twice, … he failed again and again, feeling extremely tired. After a longer break, he made a desperate attempt. Luckily, he managed to climb out of the river and lay on the land, gasping. Temperatures dropped, and his hands and feet soon were completely numb with cold.
Paragraph 1:
Richard' s dogs had been playing in the field and finally came up to him.
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Paragraph 2:
Luckily, not all hope was lost ---- there came the seventh car.
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4 . When the first visitors to Yellowstone tried to report what they saw, news magazines responded, “Thank you, but we do not print fiction.” Established in 1872 and located primarily in Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park (YNP) was famous for its natural scenery and biodiversity. As America’s first national park, it remains one of the most popular tourist attractions.
This year, YNP has reported that it had the most-ever September visitors. The increase contrasts sharply with May, when visitation rates were 90% lower compared to the same month last year. The park recorded about 837,000 visits in September, a rate 21% higher than September 2019 and 15.6% higher than the park’s second-busiest September on record in 2018, when it hosted 724,000 people.
Yellowstone was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic from March 24 to May 18, when its two Wyoming entrances reopened. In June, the park opened its three other entrances and visitation rates improved slightly. The park reported a 32% decline in visitors compared to the same month last year. Visitation rates through June were down 49% compared to numbers from the first six months of 2019. However, a rapid uptick saw an increase of 2% in visitation rates in July compared to the same month last year. The park hosted 955, 645 visitors in July compared to 534,000 people in June.
The national park’s peak season is typically from May through September. Most lodges, restaurants, stores and other services close for the year in October, followed by all park roads in early November.
Sara Fleming, a spokesperson for the Gardiner Chamber of Commerce, said the increase in tourists could be caused by an increase in the amount of young people who have visited the park in recent months. She said more young people between 20 and 50 have visited the park than in previous summers.
1. In which of the following months visitation rates dropped most?| A．May. | B．June. | C．July. | D．September. |
| A．Rise. | B．Decline. | C．Close. | D．Reopen. |
| A．The government encourages people to visit it. | B．YNP is the best destination for holiday takers. |
| C．The number of young visitors is on the rise. | D．The admission fee has declined greatly. |
| A．America’s first national park | B．YNP got its busiest September |
| C．The best season to visit YNP | D．Visitors lost interest in YNP |
5 . An Italian company has told staff to stop sending any internal (内部) emails for a week in an effort to reduce stress levels.
Home textiles company Gabel, based in the northern Como region, appointed an expert to interview its employees about what their main concerns were at work, the local La Provincia di Como website reports. Many said that managing the huge volume of internal emails was a burden during the working day. That pushed the company’s management to propose a solution, which — somewhat ironically — was sent to all staff in an email.
“Together we will begin the following experiment, which will take us back in time to when people talked more,” managing director Emilio Colombo wrote, declaring an “email-free” week until 13 November. “We invite you not to use email for internal communications (between colleagues at the same location), in favor of a more direct and immediate contact.”
The company’s president, Michele Moltrasio, tells the BBC it hasn’t been easy to stop such an “ingrained” practice, temporarily, but that employees have welcomed the challenge. “They are rediscovering the pleasure of meeting and talking rather than writing,” he says. And that includes Mr. Moltrasio, who is avoiding emails along with everyone else. “Even if from next week we all go back to using email, these days of experimentation are very worthwhile, to understand and rethink the methods and pace of working,” he says.
Several recent studies have found that a high volume of emails raises stress levels at work. In 2013, researchers said that a full inbox led to peaks in people’s blood pressure and heart rate. And last year, a study at the University of British Columbia found that limiting email use during the day lowered people’s stress levels “significantly.”
1. What did an Italian company do to reduce its employees’ pressure at work?| A．Ask its employees not to send emails anymore. |
| B．Launch a campaign to stop using emails temporarily. |
| C．Ask experts to design a new way of communication. |
| D．Interview employees about their concerns at work. |
| A．Deep-rooted. | B．Highly-praised. | C．Newly-released. | D．Commonly-seen. |
| A．Emails have been an outdated means of communication in the company. |
| B．Employees don’t communicate with each other so directly as they did in the past. |
| C．It is quite easy for employees to stop using emails. |
| D．Employees’ working stress is due to the large number of emails they deal with every day. |
| A．Negative. | B．Supportive. | C．Doubtful. | D．Reserved. |
A real friend is someone who walks in when the rest of the world
7 . Teenagers who travel around the world alone have been making headlines quite often. A young person alone in a dangerous situation attracts attention and sponsors. Young sailors also attract various views. For example, Jessica Watson was asked by the government to cancel her voyage yet the Prime Minister called her "a hero for young Australians'' when she returned. It seemed there is confusion about the competence and independence of young people.
The popular psychologists tell us that teenage brains are likely to make wrong judgments. But such ideas often do not apply to specific individuals .Between the ages of 14 and 18, teenagers vary greatly in their abilities. The amount of independence that each is allowed should be determined not simply by their age but by discussion with the related, responsible adults. Some teens are certainly inexperienced and capable of childish mistakes, but the ones who attempt dangerous journeys normally do so by winning the confidence of hard-headed and well-qualified adult supporters.
But it’s also wrong to think that any 16-year old can desire to get achievements as unusual as Jessica Watson’s. Watson calls herself "an ordinary girl who had a dream". Her intention is to encourage teenagers but this idea can have the opposite effect of making them feel not good enough because great achievements are beyond them. Should all teens have such dreams? Actually, individuals face varying circumstances that restrict their dreams.
Teenagers who travel around the world alone should not be judged by preconceived（事先形成的）views about young people. Nor should young “ordinary” teenagers feel pressure to long for extraordinary personal goals. In fact, I believe the example of solo sailing overstresses individualism. The teenage years are when most of us "ordinary" people learn that we can achieve great things in cooperation with others.
1. Why is Jessica Watson mentioned in the first paragraph?| A．To praise Jessica’s great achievement. |
| B．To point out the media's interest in young people. |
| C．To introduce a divided idea about young people's adventures. |
| D．To show the Prime Minister's attitude against the government. |
| A．They need supports of responsible adults. |
| B．Their abilities vary with the level of independence, |
| C．They tend to make wrong decisions between 14 and 18. |
| D．Their attempts in dangerous journeys prove their lacking experience. |
| A．Dreams need encouragement |
| B．Teenagers should have wild dreams. |
| C．Everyone would accomplish what Jessica has done. |
| D．Ordinary teens could also make great achievements, |
| A．Supportive, | B．Doubtful. | C．Unconcerned. | D．Sympathetic. |
8 . Experts praise the virtues of social connectivity. It’s linked to better resistance to stress and even longer life.
Relationships are often strongest when each person takes time to take care of themselves. Even when it comes to friendships, the old saying may be true. A little absence might really make the heart grow fonder. Having friendships and a strong social support system is important for your mental health and well-being.
| A．Being alone is harmful if it feels like a punishment. |
| B．Being alone gives you time to focus on your interests. |
| C．Being alone, on the other hand, is often associated with loneliness. |
| D．Research has shown that many people actually prefer being on their own. |
| E．However, research is increasingly showing that doing things alone does pay off. |
| F．Brainstorming together is often seen as one of the best ways to generate new ideas. |
| G．But being alone occasionally may make you appreciate those connections even more. |
9 . Famous for its tolerance as well as its narrow houses and broad canals, Amsterdam is undergoing a change of attitude when it comes to the millions of tourists that come to see it each year. Tolerance has reached its limits in the capital of Dutch, which is now actively urging visitors to head elsewhere.
Ellen van Loon, a partner at Dutch architectural firm OMA says, “We don’t want to turn into a Venice. While tourism earns the Dutch economy around 82 billion Euros a year, the problem we are currently facing is that Amsterdam is so loved by tourists, we just have so many coming to the city.”
Netherlands tourist officials recently took the decision to stop advertising the country as a tourist destination. Their “Perspective 2030” report, published earlier this year, stated that the focus will now be on “destination management” rather than “destination promoting”. The document also describes the country’s future strategy, acknowledging that Amsterdam’s livability will be severely influenced by “visitor overload” if action isn’t taken.
Solutions listed include working to discourage groups of visitors by either limiting or completely shutting down accommodation and entertainment products aimed at them, as well as spreading visitors to other parts of the Netherlands. Some of these measures have already come into play. Last year, the famous “I Amsterdam” sign was removed from outside the Rijksmuseum, the city’s main art gallery. The two-meter high letters have been moved to various “lesser-known neighborhoods” in a bid to entice travelers to leave the center of the city.
But will the measures being put in place be enough to save it from being damaged by its own success? Like many other locals, Van Loon fears Amsterdam has lost its uniqueness forever. “The reason tourists come here is that there’s something in the character of Amsterdam they love,” she explains. “But at a certain point, when the number of tourists is increasing and increasing, they actually kill what they loved in the first place.”
1. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 2 indicate?| A．Venice is suffering from overtourism. |
| B．Amsterdam doesn’t necessarily copy Venice. |
| C．Venice does more poorly than Amsterdam. |
| D．Amsterdam is more popular than Venice. |
| A．To reduce its pressure of mass visitors. |
| B．To turn the focus on destination promoting. |
| C．To promote the development of other areas. |
| D．To avoid much spending on city management. |
| A．Force | B．Persuade. | C．Inform. | D．Allow. |
| A．Positive. | B．Objective. | C．Skeptical. | D．Ambiguous. |
10 . Half decade ago, at the end of my first semester teaching at Wharton, my student Kevin stopped by for office hours. He sat down and burst into tears. My mind started cycling through a list of events that could make a college junior cry: His girlfriend had broken up with him; he had been accused of cheating in exams; he forgot to turn in papers before the deadline. “I just got my first A-minus(减),” he said with his voice shaking.
Year after year, I watch in depression as students are crazy about getting straight A's. Some sacrifice their health; a few have even tried to charge their school after falling short(倒挂). All hold the belief that top marks are a ticket to best graduate schools and rewarding job offers. I was one of them. I started college with the goal of graduating with a 4.0. It would be a reflection of my brainpower and willpower, showing that I had the right stuff to succeed. But I was wrong.
The evidence is clear: Academic excellence is not a strong predictor of career excellence. Across industries, research shows that the connection between grades and job performance is modest in the first year after college and unimportant within a handful of years. Take Microsoft for example, once employees are two or three years out of college, their grades have no bearing on their performance. (Of course, it must be said that if you got D's, you probably didn't end up at Microsoft.)
Academic grades rarely assess qualities like creativity, leadership and teamwork skills, or social, emotional and political intelligence. Yes, straight A students master large amounts of information and reproduce it in exams. But career success is rarely about finding the right solution to a problem—it’s more about finding the right problem to solve. This might explain why Steve Jobs finished high school with a 2.65GPA, and Martin Luther King Jr. got only one A in his four years at Morehouse.
1. Why did the student Kevin feel sad?| A．He was caught cheating in exams. | B．His girlfriend abandoned him. |
| C．He didn’t hand in his papers before headline. | D．He failed to get straight A's. |
| A．Marks didn’t reflect willpower and brainpower. |
| B．Top marks meant well-paid job offers. |
| C．It was wrong to care too much about marks. |
| D．Straight A's don't bring creative performances. |
| A．To stress the company values employees with top marks. |
| B．To indicate academic performance is important. |
| C．To show academic excellence isn’t a strong predictor of career performance. |
| D．To introduce successful example in the technology industry. |
| A．How to be a creative leader. | B．What to do with detailed information. |
| C．How to solve a problem. | D．What problems to be solved. |
