1 . As we age, we find our mind is easily distracted.     1    ? In fact, like a computer that slows with use, the brain accumulates wear and tear that affects processing. This can be caused by a number of physiological stressors such as inflammation (炎症), injury to blood vessels, the build-up of abnormal proteins. And there are also other factors affecting our concentration.

    2    ? You can consider the following approaches.

●Mindfulness

“Practising mindfulness has been shown to rewire the brain so that attention is stronger in everyday life,” says Kim Willment, a neuropsychologist of Brigham and Women’s Hospital.     3    , closing your eyes, and focusing on your breath as well as the sounds and sensation around you.

●Cognitive training

Computerized cognitive training games aim to improve your response time and attention. “The goal of playing these games is not to get better at them, but to get better in the cognitive activities of everyday life,” Willment says, “    4    , pushing it to the next level can help improve it, and this may translate to everyday life.”

●A healthier lifestyle

Many aspects of a healthy lifestyle can help attention. Start with exercise and sleep. When you exercise, you increase the availability of brain chemicals that promote new brain connections, reduce stress, and improve sleep. When you sleep, you reduce stress hormones that are harmful to the brain.     5    .

A．What happened to the laser-sharp focus we once enjoyed

B．And you clear out proteins that injure it

C．If you reach a certain level of sustained attention

D．Then what are the strategies to improve attention

E．Once you master the skills of playing these games

F．And you have a more comprehensive way of thinking

G．She recommends sitting still for a few minutes each day

2 . If you’re struggling to save money, you’re not alone. Less than half of Americans have enough emergency savings to cover at least three months’ expenses.     1     . Here are several practical ways to help you spend less.

    2    

If you want to determine how to save money, you need to figure out how to spend less of it. Many bank statements include categorized spending reports. These can provide a good sense of where your money has been going and identify opportunities to reduce your costs. If you’re married, making this review process a shared task can help cut expenses and increase savings.

Be a strategic grocery shopper

While you’ll need to keep buying groceries despite higher prices, you can make an effort to avoid throwing away unused food. As you make your grocery list, think about what ended up being thrown away last time. Those who made a shopping list in advance throw away less food.     3    

Break up with brand names

A comparison of ingredients and labels on things like noodles may show affordable alternatives to be just as nutritious and high-quality as the top-shelf ones.     4     . Try to find more affordable alternatives for any such brand-name household items you may be buying.

Challenge yourself to a spending freeze

One way that can be effective in taking control of your finances is a spending freeze, during which you cut all unnecessary spending for a set period.     5     . The extra money you’ll have at the end of the month can be added to savings or used to pay down debt.

A．Review your spending habits

B．Compare other banking options

C．So take extra time to plan out your upcoming meal

D．Saving money isn’t easy these days but it’s not impossible

E．Prices remain high on expenses such as housing, food and transportation

F．This gives you a sense of just how much you’re spending on nonessentials

G．The same concept may apply to non-food items such as paper and hand soap

4 . We all form habits we perform automatically in response to a cue or a trigger (诱因).     1     The good ones produce beneficial results without requiring too much brain power. But some can have negative effects in the long term and often need to be broken.

But how do you break a habit? There are three strategies: stop the behavior, stop subjecting yourself to the trigger, or associate the trigger with a new, similarly satisfying behavior. For example, maybe you experience a desire for popcorn as soon as you walk into a movie theater. The movie theater is the trigger, and popcorn buying and eating are the behaviors. To break this habit, you have these options: One, tell yourself “no popcorn” each time you go to the movie theater.     2     Three, replace popcorn with a new snack that better fits your nutritional goals.

Another example, like nail biting, is subconscious and done frequently throughout the day.     3     While it’s good to figure out the underlying cause, it might be difficult to catch yourself biting your nails at every moment of stress or boredom. It’s likely better to replace nail biting with another physical stress response. Alternatively, you could use a stress ball to increase your awareness of the nail-biting habit.

The key to the replacement strategy is to make sure that the new habit is appealing. Replacing daily smartphone time with a daily run just won’t work in the long term.     4    

    5     And there’s no evidence that it will take the oft-touted (经常吹捧的) 21 days. A study of 96 people showed that individuals took between 18 and 254 days to form a habit, a useful tip to know if you’re using the replacement strategy to get rid of a habit.

A．They can be good or bad.

B．A daily walk is much better.

C．Not every habit-breaking strategy works.

D．Two, avoid going to the movie theater at all.

E．You might not even know what’s triggering it.

F．Two, reduce the number of visits to the movie theater.

G．Whichever strategy you choose, the key is to do it repeatedly.

5 . 阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

Deep work: concentration is an increasingly valuable skill

The secret to success is the opposite of multitasking. However, many tend to think that     1    (productive) involves doing several things at once. We clarify deep work as the ability to focus on a mentally demanding task. It’s    2     opposite of shallow work, which is made up of simple tasks usually performed while distracted (分心).

Deep work is a valuables kill. Many are distracted when they work. Thus    3    you learn to work without distraction, that will give you an advantage. Deep work enables you to acquire skills quickly and develop excellence in your field,    4    (reward) you with a sense of achievement.

But deep work itself is a skill, which means the more time you spend, the easier it will get. Schedule deep work into your day     5    it will be easy to fill your time with shallow work. Doing deep work as your first task of the day will get your major work     6    (do) before distractions build up. Scheduling deep work sessions for the same time everyday can turn them     7     a habit.

Beginners can only focus on deep work for     8    (approximate) an hour, and even experts have trouble going more than four hours. So sat    9    (reason) goals. By focusing on planned sessions of deep work, you     10    (surprise) at how much you can achieve in the near future.

6 . Simple Yet Amazing Ways to Be Wiser

Wisdom is a wonderful fruit of experience, knowledge and good judgement, which actually allows us to conquer the demands of today’s difficult and challenging world.     1    . Here are some strategies that you can follow to get wiser.

● Never back away from learning

    2    , so you must develop a thirst for knowledge. Take new classes, read books, listen toeducational podcasts, and the list goes on and on. If something confuses you, surf the Internet and clear out your problems. All of these activities will strengthen your critical-thinking skills, finally helping you tackle a problem smoothly.

●     3    

Why not have wise people, such as your teachers and colleagues as your mentors(导师) to make yourself better? Engage in useful dialog with them. The more time you spend with them, the more transfer of knowledge there will be. Be immersed in their knowledge as much as you can, and you won’t regret it!

● Open yourself to diverse angles

Be willing to accept different views and observe the world from different angles. Never base your perspective on the most popular opinion or what is the most familiar to you.     4    .

● Always trust your gut(直觉)

People who tend to listen to their hearts are good at making decisions than people who only listen to their minds.     5    , but gut also counts and people mostly ignore that. Whenever a certain situation occurs, check how you react and then go with your gut.

A．Call upon the wisdom of others

B．Share your knowledge with others

C．It also calms us down in terrible situations

D．We often think that wisdom is associated with the heart

E．Inspire humanity and see your life change for the better

F．Train your mind to be a judgment-free space for various ideas

G．Always being in your comfort zone will never help you gain wisdom

7 . Why do we universally appreciate cartoons? Because they are visual — the humor unfolds right before our eyes. As writers, we have a unique challenge to craft worlds, including humorous ones, using only words.

At first glance, writers and cartoonists have vastly different toolboxes and skill sets. But if you look closely, you will notice similar devices, such as simplification, exaggeration (夸张), and contrast.

In many literary forms, decoration enriches a piece. That’s not true for humor writing — humor can get lost with too many details. Adding a bit of shading will give depth to an illustration, yet there’s usually no need to detail every feature. There’s a thin line between plain and funny, and the difference often lies in whether a writer adheres to the universal comedic principle, “less is funnier.” By simplifying complex situations, characters, plots, and reactions, your work becomes more digestible and humorous.

Exaggeration is one of the most straightforward and effective comedic tools. As a humor writer, don’t shy away from every chance to stretch the truth, whether by understatement or overstatement. However, effective humor is truth based. The relationship between exaggeration and realism in humor is like stretching a rubber band (橡皮筋). A little stretching, even repeated stretching, is no problem. However, overstretching the band will cause it to break, as well as the humor and the reader’s trust.

Contrasting is the juxtaposition (并列) of elements not usually coupled, a technique that cartoonists use to create humorous mismatches by placing significantly different elements side by side. As writers, we can use juxtaposition to brainstorm new humor angles and create funny mismatches.

Humor is at its funniest when it’s visual, and writers can craft more humorous material by employing the same techniques used by cartoonists. By thinking and writing visually, you can show the funny to readers.

1. What do writers and cartoonists have in common in expressing humor?

A．They craft worlds literally.	B．They focus closely on details.
C．They employ techniques alike.	D．They get through to readers easily.

2. What does the underlined phrase “adheres to” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Break.

B．Follow

C．Revise.

D．Challenge.

3. What is a way to achieve humour according to the author?

A．Overstating simple situations.	B．Shying away from the truth.
C．Reducing the number of characters.	D．Combining uncoupled elements.

4. Where is the text most probably taken from?

A．A review of modern cartoons.	B．An essay on the art of writing.
C．An introduction to painting skills.	D．A guidebook for passionate readers.

8 . Flash fiction is a name for short stories that are kept within a specific word or character limit, usually up to 1,500 words.    1    . It’s about finding clever ways to keep as much detail as possible about the plot, characters and setting but in the fewest words possible. Use these four top tips to help you write your own fascinating flash fiction.

●    2    

When planning a flash fiction story you first need to decide what are the important parts of the story that the reader just cannot miss. This might be a few moments from the beginning, middle and end. Once you have these, then any extra detail can either be cutaway or added in—if it makes the story better and the word limit allows.

●Develop characters using adverbs

Good flash fiction has well-developed characters who have personalities and faults. You can takeout long descriptions of your characters and replace them with the occasional adverb to help the reader understand the characters’ movements and behaviour. Adverbs are words that describe verbs.    3    .Examples of adverbs include, “The prince stared angrily and marched awkwardly back to his horse.”

●Use clauses to add colour and detail

Clauses add detail to sentences without adding too many words.    4    .This is a section of a sentence starting with which, who, when, where, etc. For example, “The air, which smelt of oranges...” Be careful not to make sentences too long, though, and takeout any clauses that don’t add anything to the story.

●Combine your sentences

    5    .For example: Mary was upset she had school and took her shoes off. She slumped on the sofa and flicked on the TV. It was going to be a long day and she was nervous about meeting the new head teacher. This becomes; Mary slumped in front of the TV, took off her shoes and decided she was too nervous for school.

A．Practice to make it perfect

B．Plan carefully before writing

C．Writing flash fiction takes skill

D．You could use a relative clause

E．Verbs are words that describe physical or mental actions and states of being

F．Try doing this by picking a few things and putting them into a shorter sentence

G．They have different functions from other words used in flash fiction in English

9 . In this globalized era, it has become more and more common to work, live, befriend, and even create families with people of diverse backgrounds. In this sense, understanding how to bridge cultural gaps among various diverse groups is important. The better we understand each other, the less misunderstanding would occur.     1    .

Recognize cultural differences.

Be as open-minded as possible. Recognize cultural differences among the people you are communicating with.    2     before you know the person more in depth. It is a way to respect their differences.

Show respect.

    3    . Some cultures show it more physically, like bowing in Japan. Others are less physical, but more on the verbal level, like in most Western cultures. Respect the way people express respect.

Speak clearly.

Speaking clearly means using concrete words, not abstract words, which can often confuse those who speak English as a foreign or second language. Use a calm and soft intonation as well, as people tend to take in information better when listening to a calming tone.

    4    .

With awareness and understanding of cultural differences, asking for clarification should not be hard. Offer clarification as well, so the person would feel you are doing your best to communicate meaningfully.

In short, bridging cultural gaps requires a respectful and honest communication where clarifying and asking for clarifications should come naturally.     5    . So is the final quality of the results.

A．Clarify and ask for clarification.

B．Here are some suggestions which help.

C．These points not only decide on the topic.

D．People tend to show respect with polite words.

E．The way you communicate is of great importance.

F．Every culture has a very special way to show respect.

G．Know that the behaviors are based on cultural backgrounds.

10 . How to Deal with Awkward Silences

We all know what it’s like when a conversation dies off and you’re left to sit in silence.     1     Thankfully, filling these silences isn’t as difficult as it may seem. Read on to learn how to initiate small talk and deal with awkward silences.

• Think of topics ahead of time.

Before attending a social event, think of a few “go-to” topics to jumpstart a dead conversation. This will help you to fill the silences instead of struggling for words in the moment. Recent news, local events, popular books and television shows are all good fallback options.     2    

• Ask open-ended questions.

Ask questions that have more than one possible answer.     3     They help avoid resulting in short response. For example, instead of asking, “Did you like your high school?”, you could ask, “What did you like about your high school?”

•     4    

As with any good conversation, the biggest key is to listen. If they respond to your question with a short statement such as “Yes”or “No”, that might indicate that they aren’t comfortable talking about a particular subject. Instead, talk about something that you know they're interested in. For example, “I heard you won your football game the other night. I’d love to hear about it.”

• Give a compliment (表扬).

    5     For example, you could say, “I really like your shirt. Where did you get it?” This could move the conversation in another direction while making the other person feel good. Stick to saying nice things if you’re trying to make small talk.

A．Keep the conversation flowing.

B．It also allows you to spend more time together.

C．Listen carefully and respond to their reactions.

D．There’s only one word to describe it: awkward.

E．This is always a safe bet, as long as it’s appropriate.

F．Such questions are likely to get the person talking more.

G．However, avoid some subjects that may cause arguments.