1 . Although we benefit from deep and meaningful conversations that help us build connections with one another, we often stick to small talk with strangers because we underestimate (低估) how much others are interested in our lives and wrongly believe that deep conversations will be more awkward and less enjoyable than they actually are, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and his colleagues designed a series of experiments with more than 1, 800 participants. The researchers asked pairs of people — mainly strangers — to discuss either relatively deep or shallow topics. In the first experiment, people received shallow or deep questions to discuss. Before the conversations, participants predicted how awkward they thought the conversations would be, how connected they thought they would feel to their conversation partner and how much they would enjoy the conversations. Afterward, they rated how awkward the conversations actually were, how connected they actually felt and how much enjoyment they actually experienced.
The researchers found that both deep and shallow conversations felt less awkward than the participants had expected. That effect tended to be stronger for deep conversations.
Deep conversations were also more enjoyable and led to a stronger sense of connection. In the second experiment, participants who had a deep conversation with one partner and a shallow conversation with another partner initially expected to prefer the shallow conversation but actually preferred the deep conversation after having both of them.
“Our participants’ expectations about deep conversations were greatly mistaken in a way that could keep people from interacting deeply with others in their daily lives,” Epley said. “As the pandemic (疫情) wanes and social distance restrictions become less strict, and we all get back to talking with each other again, being aware that others also like deep conversations might lead you to have more pleasant interactions.”
1. What were the participants asked to do in the first experiment?| A．Choose some topics they prefer. | B．Avoid discussing shallow topics. |
| C．Make predictions on their feelings. | D．Classify various types of questions. |
| A．preferred to discuss shallow questions with strangers |
| B．felt very awkward when conducting deep conversations |
| C．underestimated how awkward their strange partners felt |
| D．overestimated the awkwardness of talking with strangers |
| A．It is easier to conduct than making small talk. |
| B．It usually causes a weaker sense of connection. |
| C．It is more enjoyable than having shallow ones. |
| D．It is more awkward than previously expected. |
| A．Worsens. | B．Appears. | C．Spreads. | D．Fades. |
2 . I opened my car window and called out, “Ma’am! Ma’am!” The only lady in the parking lot
Her face registered
I have made it a
As women, we have learned from our role models to be
| A．set off | B．looked around | C．got away | D．turned down |
| A．surprise | B．approval | C．satisfaction | D．curiosity |
| A．stepped aside | B．held out | C．called back | D．turned up |
| A．straightened | B．shook | C．widened | D．moved |
| A．further | B．slower | C．higher | D．lighter |
| A．deal | B．choice | C．point | D．sense |
| A．silently | B．seriously | C．regularly | D．randomly |
| A．housewife | B．cheerleader | C．stranger | D．acquaintance |
| A．enjoys | B．acquires | C．deserves | D．saves |
| A．practical | B．generous | C．smart | D．quiet |
| A．responsibility | B．skills | C．competitiveness | D．achievements |
| A．determination | B．modesty | C．concern | D．optimism |
| A．misses | B．starts | C．continues | D．avoids |
| A．accept | B．change | C．doubt | D．notice |
| A．upset | B．innocent | C．guilty | D．empty |
3 . Four Qualities That Make You Attractive to Others
There is something many people gets wrong about attraction.
Have control over your emotions(情绪). It’s not easy to always have control over your emotions. And people who do are extremely attractive. Have control over your emotions so that your emotions don’t control you. Allow yourself to think about what you’re going to say.
Laugh at yourself. It’s not what happens to us that makes us feel stressed.
Give plenty of space. The secret to long-lasting relationships is space, because time apart helps each partner recharge and bring positive energy into the relationship.
| A．Be warm. |
| B．Controlling people are unattractive. |
| C．Don’t be too quick to show warmth. |
| D．It’s how we react to it that affects us. |
| E．They should develop a sense of humor. |
| F．Take your time to cool down and reorganize your thoughts. |
| G．They think they have to look beautiful to be accepted by others. |
4 . Giving generously and receiving gratefully make it easier to live happily with others.
Let me start with the idea of giving generously.
The good news is that when we lead our life being nice to others, our life runs more smoothly.
At the same time, we should remember to receive gratefully. I truly believe that you cant say “thank you” enough when you receive.
If you are looking for a way to improve your life, I can give you one: Give generously and receive gratefully.
| A．So often we get lazy about expressing gratitude. |
| B．Thus,saying “thank you” can bring us good luck. |
| C．If you are generous, some people will use you. |
| D．In return, we are to help others by giving them our time or money. |
| E．I think people are unwilling to be generous to others for fear of being used. |
| F．Yet,why do we have such difficulty achieving these things in our relationships？ |
| G．Words of appreciation make others feel good about themselves like nothing else. |
My job is just one of the essential jobs, a sanitation（卫生系统）engineer, not a glamorous one, but is considered the alternative. Of course, I never regard it as an ashamed task to be in my position. About the second week of the lockdown because of the Covid-19, I was having trouble finding a sanitizing spray（消毒喷雾）for my truck. The next morning on my way to work at 4 a. m., I stopped at one of the few stores which were open that early, hoping to purchase some. However, it was only open for the police and medical personnel. “Look at my vest please,” I begged to the clerk, “I’m not just buying it for myself.” “I’m more than sorry, sir. But this is just the regulation, and I really can’t help.” replied the smiling girl. As I turned to head back to my car with disappointment, I nearly broke down.
Coming out of the store, my stomach began to call for energy support. I stopped at a 7/11 and ordered an everything bagel（硬面包）with cream cheese to satisfy my poor stomach and my empty heart. It was toasty warm, and I couldn’t wait to dig in. But as I left the store with a little joy coming sweetly from the bagel, I noticed a scene that an old man was sitting at the bus stop, in rags. Knowing that it would probably be his only warm meal of the day, I gave him the bagel without any hesitation. Just when I was ready to turn around for another same bagel, something warming my heart came into being. Another customer, a gentle lady, from the 7/11 offered me half of her bagel. “We everyone should be taken care of at some certain moment.” she said with a tender sweet voice as I smiled to thank her sincerely. I was delighted because I realized that in one way or another, we were all looked after.
注意：续写词数应为150左右。
So I decided to go back to the former store to try my luck again for the spray.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Just before I gave up, a local policeman was heading into the store.
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6 . Criticism is harmful to healthy relationships.
Changing Your Behavior
●Think before you speak.
●Separate the individual from their actions. If you work on separating the person from the action, you may naturally want to criticize less. As you realize you cannot judge a person’s character based on a single choice or decision, you will be unable to call someone out for being rude or disrespectful.
●Focus on positives. Oftentimes, being critical results from how you’re choosing to see a situation. Everyone has shortcomings. However, the vast majority of people have good qualities that outweigh bad ones.
Communicating More Effectively
●
●Ask for what you want directly. Inefficient communication often results in heavy criticism.
●Consider the other party’s perspective. If you criticize others too often, you may be shutting out the other person’s point of view. Try to step in another person’s shoes before criticizing and you may get some new and special ideas.
| A．Give feedback rather than criticism. |
| B．However, there are ways to avoid criticism. |
| C．Try to focus on a person’s positive qualities over their negative ones. |
| D．If you find yourself making assumptions about a person’s character, stop yourself. |
| E．If you’re not telling someone what you want, that person cannot be expected to know. |
| F．Criticism should, ideally, be working towards an effective solution to a negative situation. |
| G．When you want to dish out criticism, pause and consider whether you really need to say anything. |
7 . Awesome English speakers are also great team players in conversations, which means they share the conversation. They listen, they respond, and they help others to participate as well and to enjoy themselves.
However, just talking a little too much in conversations doesn’t mean someone is a bad person.
Obviously, you can’t expect random people to do that for you.
| A．They don’t dominate the conversation. |
| B．That’s meaningless and a waste of time. |
| C．Sharing the conversation will make people want to stay. |
| D．It doesn’t necessarily mean he or she is a bad listener, either. |
| E．Thanks to this, you might build a closer relationship with them. |
| F．Besides sharing the conversation，you shouldn’t keep silent all the time. |
| G．But if you build a good relationship with someone, then it might pay off. |
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（/\）， 并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：
1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
It was Sunday. I was doing housework while someone knocked at the door. It was a milkman who sent a bottle of milk. But I didn’t order them. Feeling confused, I noticed a note stick to it. The note says “Dear neighbor, I’m sorry about a noise made by our decoration that will last for three days. The bottle of milk is given to you as a gift show our apology.”
The next day, everyone in the neighborhood were talking about the milk and our coming neighbor. With the decoration being finished, the family finally moved into the neighborhood. People came to help. I was deep touched by this scene which was full on consideration and appreciation.
9 . Teens who have good, supportive relationships with their teachers enjoy better health as adults, according to research published by an American research center.
“This research suggests that improving students’ relationships with teachers could have positive and long-lasting effects beyond just academic success,” said Jinho Kim, a professor at Korea University and author of the study. “It could also bring about health implications in the long run.” Previous research has suggested that teens’ social relationships might be linked to health outcomes in adulthood. However, it is not clear whether the link between teen relationships and lifetime health is causal (因果的) — it could be that other factors, such as different family backgrounds, might contribute to both relationship problems in adolescence and to poor health in adulthood. Also, most research has focused on teens’ relationships with their peers (同龄人), rather than on their relationships with teachers.
To explore those questions further, Kim analyzed data on nearly 20, 000 participants from the Add Health study, a national study in the U. S. that followed participants from seventh grade into early adulthood. The participant pool included more than 3, 400 pairs of siblings (兄弟姐妹). As teens, participants answered questions, like “How often have you had trouble getting along with other students and your teachers?” As adults, participants were asked about their physical and mental health.
Kim found that participants who had reported better relationships with both their peers and teachers in middle and high school also reported better physical and mental health in their mid-20s. However, when he controlled for family background by looking at pairs of siblings together, only the link between good teacher relationships and adult health remained significant.
The results suggest teacher relationships are more important than previously realized and that schools should invest in training teachers on how to build warm and supportive relationships with their students. “This is not something that most teachers receive much training in,” Kim said, “but it should be.”
1. What does the underlined word “implications” in Paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Recipes. | B．Habits. | C．Risks. | D．Benefits. |
| A．Poor health in adolescence. | B．Teens’ relationships with their peers. |
| C．Limitations of the previous research. | D．Factors affecting health in adulthood. |
| A．Positive student-teacher relationship helps students’ adult health. |
| B．Good family background promises long-term adult health. |
| C．Healthy peer relationships leads to students’ academic success. |
| D．Good adult health depends on teens’ good teachers. |
| A．A medical report. | B．A health magazine. | C．A term paper. | D．A family survey. |
10 . Small talk has a reputation for being uninteresting, and for good reason. Pointing out the fact that it's raining seems as ridiculous as pointing out the fact that you have a head — you're fully aware of both things, and don't require an outsider to confirm them. But despite being evident and often painfully dull, small talk has an important role to fulfill, enabling us to leap over a number of social obstacles towards improved, meaningful interaction.
Humans can be sensitive souls. We each have our boundaries and lists of potential upsets, which when broken, cause us to either gently back away to an alternative position in the room, or become cross at the person. Small talk is first a way to test the waters with an unfamiliar person, so that you may better understand their personality. When finding yourself positioned closely to a person who you know little about, it's much safer to point out the rainy sky than to share your political views on a sensitive topic. Until you know the person better, heavier topics should probably be kept under wraps, so you won't find yourself on the receiving end of a cold stare.
Though insignificant, small talk still has great power. When talking with fellow humans, much of our soul is exposed through non-verbal communication. A response to “how was your weekend” can unveil much about the person's character. The length of their response might indicate their level of self-confidence; the tone of speaking might show how agreeable a person is; their slightly lowered head, as if protecting themselves from attack, a possible sign of a regrettable history of bullying.
As more of a person's character is revealed, we have the insight needed to determine whether to put forward more significant topics—the things that we actually want to talk about. Conversation is a great educator, and deep conversation establish lasting bonds with our fellow humans, forming precious friendships that paint our lives with vivid colors. Such friendships begin with small talk.
1. What does the first paragraph mainly talk about?| A．The first stage of human interaction. |
| B．Ridiculous human behavior in communication. |
| C．Absence of communication between strangers. |
| D．The difficulty of having deep conversations. |
| A．Because they talk to an unfamiliar person. |
| B．Because they are enthusiastic about politics. |
| C．Because they are too sensitive about topics. |
| D．Because they fail to manage interpersonal distance. |
| A．The length of the answer. | B．The quality of the voice. |
| C．The position of the head. | D．The distance between speakers. |
| A．Sensitive Human Souls. | B．Ways of Understanding Personality. |
| C．Significance of Small Talk. | D．Challenges of Deep Conversation. |
