1 . Imagine an oxygen mask drops down right in front of you. What’s happened? Yes, a plane crash. But the chances of being killed are very slim. You’re more likely to drown in a bubble bath, choke on your breakfast or die in a car accident on your way to the airport.     1     So, what do you do with this yellow mask if it suddenly drops from the ceiling? Here are four things.

●    2    

Your flip-flops (人字拖) may be comfortable, but they’re not going to perform well in case of an emergency. And neither will your high-heeled shoes. It’s reported that 68％ of passengers in plane accidents die from injuries in post-crash fires. So go for long pants and long-sleeved shirts — they’ll protect you from flames and sharp objects.

●Be wise about where your seat is.

Where is the safest place to sit? According to Popular Mechanics, your best bet is to sit as far back in the airplane as possible unless the plane goes down tail-first. There is no such thing. It all really depends on the situation. Regardless of what section you’re sitting in, know where the emergency exits are.     3     So, you can find it even if the cabin is filled with smoke.

●Save yourself not your possessions.

If you get to evacuate (撤离) from the plane, do it as quickly as possible. Don’t try to get your carry-on to take with you.     4    

●Stay awake during take-off and landing.

The first three minutes after take-off and the eight minutes before landing are the most dangerous times of the entire flight. Make sure to keep your shoes on, your seatbelt fastened. Put your carry-on items under the seat in front of you to keep your legs from being broken. And pay attention to the emergency instructions.     5     Not all planes are the same, though.

A．Count the rows to the closest one.

B．After all, life is full of dangers like those.

C．You’ve been on a plane many times before.

D．Dress as if you have to run away from a fire.

E．Put on lace-up shoes in case you need to run.

F．Yet we can all feel nervous when stepping on a plane.

G．You might end up getting stuck with it in the time you waste.

2 . I started my love of laundry (洗衣) even before 3. I spent hours staring at the clothes circling in the washing machine. The love deepened as I grew older. I learned how to wash and dry before I was ten.     1     At the university, I sought out if I could wash my dry-clean-only myself.

What I learned from laundry were not just the how-tos.     2     When the clothes are clean, smell wonderful, and look great, your loved ones are going to feel as if their days are going to be all the brighter. That’s true for you and your clothes as well. With the following basic rules, you’ll be on your way.

RULE 1: Wash everything in warm water.

    3     Yes, your darks. Yes, even your delicates. Don’t worry — warm water will not fade (褪色) or shrink your clothes. Most wash cycles include four steps: the wash, the rest, the rinse (漂洗), and the spin. Only the wash stage uses warm water, meaning that your clothes will be in warm water for only eight or so minutes — just long enough to get them clean but never so long as to do them harm.

RULE 2:     4    

One of my fondest childhood memories is keeping Granny company as she hung up laundry in the bright sunshine. It was my duty to hand her laundry pins (夹子). Late in the afternoon, we’d return to fold each piece and drop it into the basket. I remember her enjoying the process, and so did I.

You might not have time to hang up every load of your wash. But you may want to consider line-drying some of your things. It’ll save energy and your clothes.     5    

A．I do mean everything.

B．Sort your laundry wisely.

C．Plus, they’ll smell like sunshine.

D．Offer a hand whenever necessary.

E．Try to line dry, at least sometimes.

F．In my teens, I taught myself to iron my uniforms.

G．Caring for clothes is also a way to experience and express love.

3 . Primary school textbooks say a personal letter normally consists of a greeting, an introduction, a body and a conclusion.    1    . So if you’ve been dying to send a perfect letter but still haven’t found your way, read on for some tips.

    2    . Instead of just telling the facts, you might ask the receivers if they’ve had a similar experience, or if they could offer you advice. By asking such open- ended questions, you’re also inviting them to offer you a window into their personal experiences.

Aim for “universal specifics”. Being specific in your personal writing will help create a fuller picture that better reflects your story and your relationship with the readers.    3     .

Be true to yourself, regardless of the readers. When you are writing to loved ones, it might be easier to be yourself. However, when you are writing to co-workers or strangers, it’s very natural that you will try to show the best version of yourself.    4    . So, even if you are writing a professional letter, you still need to be true to yourself, since your intent is to let your receiver know who you are.

Of course, that’s not a blank check to say whatever you please, though.    5    . What I really mean is that you should not be too scared to put some personality in your writing.

A．The most important thing is to just start writing

B．Yet writing a good letter can be much more difficult than that

C．A very good personal writing can be an invitation to a conversation

D．But that sometimes results in being kind of a false version of yourself

E．Of course, you should just focus on the experiences that the readers can relate to

F．Ask open-ended questions and let your personal experience inform your curiosity

G．Instead, you should always make sure that whatever you share is proper for the setting

5 . Four ways to be admired

Gaining admiration requires honesty, hard work, perseverance and some other qualities.    1    

Lead, don’t follow.

People who are admired are unafraid to do something new or different.    2    You can be a leader even among those who have greater official authority than you by convincing others to follow a certain course or act in a certain way. Leadership requires more than speaking and acting in an inspirational and influential way. You must also be willing to take responsibility when something needs doing.

    3    

It means you will stand by the things you believe. Admirable individuals try to keep their personal integrity (诚信) by staying true to who they are even when it is unpopular or questioned. However, standing by your principles (原则) and acting with integrity doesn’t mean that you are unwilling to accept or consider other ideas.

Take a positive attitude.

A positive attitude doesn’t mean pretending that everything is great all the time. That is unrealistic.    4    Try to be positive about some negative situations, and maybe things will get better.

Work hard.

Whether you’re working for minimum wage or managing a large company, you should always take pride in your work. Doing so will show that you are capable of doing your part. Go above and beyond in your workplace by giving your all on the job. If you make pizzas, make the best pizza you can every time.    5    Take pride in your work and doing it will be a pleasure, not a hard job. Keep your office or workspace clean and well-organized.

A．Stick to your principles.

B．Show personal integrity.

C．If you clean the floors, make it perfectly.

D．No matter who you are, earning admiration requires many skills.

E．Being a leader doesn’t necessarily mean you are in a higher position.

F．It is important to push people in the workplace to make them feel relaxed.

G．Instead, recognize when things are bad but look for the good in every situation.

7 . A baby born today will be thirty-something in 2050. If all goes well, that baby will still be around in 2100, and might even be an active citizen of the 22^nd century. What should we teach that baby to help them survive and flourish in the world of 2050 and beyond? What kind of skills will they need in order to get a job, understand what is happening around them, and navigate their tough life?

At present, too many schools across the world focus on providing pupils with a set of predetermined skills, such as writing computer code in C++ and conversing in Chinese. Yet since we have no idea how the world and the job market will look in 2050, we don’t really know what particular skills people will need. We might invest a lot of effort in teaching kids how to write in C++ or to speak Chinese, only to discover sooner or later that AI will have been able to code software far better than humans, and that a new translation app will have enabled you to conduct a conversation in almost flawless Mandarin, Cantonese or Hakka, even though you only know how to say ni hao.

So what should we be teaching? Many experts argue that schools should downplay technical skills and emphasize general-purpose life skills: the ability to deal with change, to learn new things, and to preserve your mental balance in unfamiliar situations. In order to keep up with the world of 2050, you will above all need to reinvent yourself again and again.

To succeed in such a demanding task, you will need to work very hard on getting to know your operating system better—to know what you are and what you want from life. This is, of course, the oldest advice in the book: know thyself. This advice was never more urgent than in the mid-21^st century, because unlike in the days of Laozi or Socrates, now you have serious competition. Coca-Cola, Amazon and Facebook are all racing to hack you.

Right now, the algorithms (算法) are watching where you go, what you buy, and who you meet. Soon they will monitor all your steps, breaths and heartbeats. They are relying on big data and machine learning to get to know you better and better. And once these algorithms know you better than you know yourself, they could control and manipulate (操纵) you. In the end, authority will shift to them.

Of course, you might be perfectly happy giving up all authority to the algorithms and trusting them to make decisions for you and for the rest of the world. If, however, you want to maintain some control over your personal existence and over the future of life in general, you have to run faster than the algorithms. To run fast, don’t take much luggage with you. Leave all your illusions (幻想) behind. They are very heavy.

1. What does the underlined word “downplay” in paragraph 3 most probably mean?

A．Give too much emphasis on something.

B．Make people think that something is less important.

C．Offer your reasons why something is right or wrong.

D．Decide something in advance so that it does not happen.

2. According to the article, ___________ plays a vital role in children’s bright future.

A．imagination

B．adaptability

C．self-discipline

D．a good sense of balance

3. It’s important to know our operating system because ___________.

A．if we don’t, algorithms will hack all our devices.

B．it is an essential skill for us to succeed in the world of 2050.

C．we need to learn how algorithms work and make full use of them.

D．we need to outrun algorithms to keep some control over our personal life.

4. The article mainly talks about _________.

A．the importance of knowing yourself

B．the threats and dangers of technology

C．what kind of skills we might need in the future

D．some potential benefits algorithms would bring to humankind

9 . Adversity quotient (AQ逆商) is one’s ability to handle adversities well. It is known by other names such as resilience (适应力) and persistence.     1    . A person with high AQ is tough and will not easily give up in the face of hardship, and often has the following qualities:

    2    

As we all know, change is the only constant in life. In the natural world, a creature that cannot adapt to changing circumstances eventually comes to an end. An employee who refuses to adapt to great changes such as heavier workloads will give up and leave.     3    . The ups and downs of life will not crush them.

High emotional quotient (EQ)

    4    . Poor emotional control can make a situation worse than it already is. A person with a high EQ usually knows that the emotional impact of an adverse situation is only temporary. It is the classic “this too shall pass” mode of psychology.

A positive attitude toward life

A person with a high AQ has a positive outlook on life. They will see the half-full glass instead of the half-empty one.     5    .

The concept of AQ is becoming increasingly relevant as the world goes through tough times. People with high AQs are an asset to any organization.

A．Sensitivity to changes

B．Adaptability to changes

C．However, a person with high AQ will stay no matter what

D．Without high AQ, anxiety and depression are usually not far behind

E．They will see even criticism in a positive and constructive spirit

F．AQ is the capacity to bounce back after you have been pushed down

G．The ability to regulate one’s emotions is important when faced with adversity