1 . 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. |
2 . How to Feel Connected
It's easy to feel disconnected from what is going on around you in today's fast-paced world.
Consider why you feel disconnected. Knowing what is making you feel disconnected can help you choose the best ways to address it.
Interact with people in person. Technology is a great way to stay in touch, but sometimes you need to spend time with other people in person.
Show appreciation.
| A．Ask others what they need from you. |
| B．A simple “thank you” goes a very long way. |
| C．Feeling connected gives people great confidence. |
| D．A gift should be delivered to friends on special occasions. |
| E．Sometimes you can feel isolated and distant from the ones you love. |
| F．Attending family events can help strengthen your relationship and keep it strong. |
| G．Targeting your efforts toward those issues allows you to close that distance more effectively. |
3 . Last year, Americans spent over $30 billion at retail (零售) stores in the month of December alone. Aside from purchasing holiday gifts, most people regularly buy presents for other occasions throughout the year, including weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and baby showers. This frequent experience of gift-giving can create ambivalent feelings in gift-givers. Many believe that gift-giving offers a powerful means to build stronger bonds with intended receivers. At the same time, many worry that their purchases will disappoint rather than delight the intended receivers.
Anthropologists (人类学家) describe gift-giving as a positive social process, serving various political, religious, and psychological functions. Economists, however, offer a less favorable view. They think that gift-giving represents an objective waste of resources. People buy gifts that receivers would not choose to buy on their own, or at least not spend as much money to purchase. Givers are likely to spend $100 to purchase a gift that receivers would spend only $80 to buy themselves.
What is surprising is that gift-givers have considerable experience acting as both gift-givers and gift-receivers, but still tend to overspend each time they set out to purchase a meaningful gift. In the present research, psychologists find a unique explanation for this overspending problem — gift-givers equate (等同) how much they spend with how much receivers will appreciate the gift. Although a link between gift price and feelings of appreciation might seem relevant to gift-givers, such an assumption may be unfounded. Indeed, we find that gift-receivers will be less willing to base their feelings of appreciation on the gift price than givers assume.
The thoughts of gift-givers and gift-receivers being unable to account for the other party’s perspective (立场) seems puzzling because people slip in and out of these roles every day. Yet, despite the extensive experience that people have as both givers and receivers, they often struggle to transfer information gained from one role and apply it in another.
1. What does the underlined word “ambivalent” in Paragraph1 probably mean?| A．Concerned. | B．Positive. |
| C．Unrealistic. | D．Conflicting. |
| A．It strengthens the bonds between people. |
| B．It is economically beneficial to the receiver. |
| C．It is actually a process of wasting resources. |
| D．It increases the financial burden to the giver. |
| A．Personal preferences are the least to be considered. |
| B．Gift-givers tend to link the gift cost to gift-receivers’ appreciation. |
| C．More gift-receiving experience helps prevent overspending. |
| D．The assumption made by gift-givers turned out to be correct. |
| A．a trend of overspending |
| B．an inability to change perspectives |
| C．a growing opposition to gift-giving |
| D．a misunderstanding of gift-receivers’ tastes |
4 . Tips for Submitting a Good Letter of Recommendation
If you consider applying for any colleges abroad, one of the most important parts is the recommendation letter. Its purpose is to give universities a complete picture of you.
But a credible (可信的) reference saying you’ve consistently worked hard on a project can be the difference between getting accepted or rejected.
Choose the right references
Universities want to know how well you work under pressure and how you react to criticism, basically your characteristics, abilities and mentality. A good referee (推荐人) should have a solid professional relationship with you and be able to communicate your academic and personal strengths.
Most universities ask for two recommendation letters. They are regularly split between a school professor and an extracurricular (课外的) source. Undoubtedly, it’s good to show your skills in the subject you want to study.
Time
Professionals can sometimes find it hard to make time for writing recommendations.
Clear goals
Don’t be afraid to ask your referees to include certain qualities or examples you want to highlight. You should inform at least one of your referees about your career goals, grades and recent projects. They may not be referenced. But giving referees additional evidence to back up their points can make the letter more convincing.
| A．Make sure to know more about your university. |
| B．You can write that you’re hard-working yourself. |
| C．They can be quite occupied during application season. |
| D．The more information you include, the better it may be. |
| E．Don’t forget to check each university’s guidelines for reference letters. |
| F．Examples of how you have demonstrated them are needed to add more credibility. |
| G．But other abilities that may not be apparent in the classroom can be equally valuable. |
5 . There is a very long list of rules for the New York City subway. Don’t put your feet on a seat, don’t carry open cups of coffee or soda, don’t take more than one seat... Those are just a few of the rules. There are hundreds more.
With so many rules, why is it still unpleasant to ride the subway?
Some people think that the problem is that no one enforces the rules. Other passengers sometimes try to enforce rules. But you can’t rely on them because New Yorkers have unwritten rules against talking to strangers and making eye contact with strangers. How can you tell someone to take her shopping bags off the seat and throw away her Coke without talking to her or looking at her? It is difficult.
There are other New Yorkers who think that the subway is unpleasant because there are not enough rules. One rider wrote a letter to The New York Times a couple of weeks ago suggesting a few more subway rules. Here are some of the rules that she would like to see:
—Don’t lean on the poles. You prevent other people from holding on. They can fall down.
—Talk quietly. The trains are already too noisy.
—Give your seat to elderly passengers or to parents with small children.
If those unwritten rules of etiquette are written down, will the rude people be more likely to follow them? It doesn’t make sense to make more rules that no one will enforce.
The real problem is that we are forgetting how to be nice to each other. It is embarrassing that we need a rule to tell us to give our seat to elderly passengers. Nobody should need to be reminded to do that.
I say we stop talking about the rules and try to remember our manners. Let’s be nice to each other not because a police officer might tell us to get off the train, but because it is the right thing to do. Then New York City would be more civilized —both above ground and below.
1. Don’t make eye contact and don’t talk to strangers are examples of .| A．New York subway rules | B．personal preferences on the subway |
| C．behavioral habits in New York City | D．unpleasant experiences on the subway |
| A．manners | B．phenomena | C．festivals | D．moods |
| A．The authority should set stricter rules. |
| B．The government should employ more police. |
| C．The citizens should ride the subway less. |
| D．Everyone should take better care of their behavior. |
6 . It is generally believed that people act the way they do because of their personalities and attitudes.They recycle their garbage because they care about the environment.They pay $5 for a caramel brulee latte because they like expensive coffee drinks.
It’s undeniable that behavior comes from our inner character,but in many instances we also draw inferences about who we are,as suggested by the social psychologist Daryl Bern.By observing our own behavior,we can be strangers to ourselves.If we knew our own minds,why would we need to guess what our preferences are from our behavior? If our minds were an open book,we would know exactly how much we care about the environment or like lattes.Actually,we often need to look to our behavior to figure out who we are.
Moreover,we don’t just use our behavior to learn about our particular types of character—we infer characters that weren’t there before.Our behavior is often shaped by little pressures around us,which we fail to recognize.Maybe we recycle because our wives and neighbors would disapprove if we didn’t.Maybe we buy lattes in order to impress the people around us.We should not mistakenly believe that we always behave as a result of some inner character.
Whatever pressures there can be or inferences one can make,people become what they do,though it may not be in compliance with their true desires.Therefore,we should all bear in mind Kurt Vonnegut’s advice:“We are what we pretend to be,so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
1. According to the text,personalities and attitudes ______.| A．result from one’s habits |
| B．affect one’s surroundings |
| C．reflect one’s taste |
| D．determine one’s behavior |
| A．The return of a wallet can indicate one’s honesty. |
| B．A kind person will offer his seat to senior citizens. |
| C．One recycles plastics to reduce the carbon footprints. |
| D．One buys latte due to his deep affection for coffee. |
| A．Harmony. | B．Challenge. |
| C．Strength. | D．Memory. |
| A．Preferences and habits. |
| B．Behavior and personalities. |
| C．Attitudes and preferences. |
| D．Personalities and attitudes. |
7 . From the most talked about politicians to the most popular TV shows, the social media platform—Twitter has unveiled what its users have been most fixated (最关注的) with over the past year.
Most tweeted-about TV shows 2019
HBO’s “Game of Thrones” claimed the title of the most tweeted-about TV show of the year, despite many criticizing the series for an anti-climatic finale.
It was followed by streaming giant Netflix‟s “Stranger Things” and long-standing animated sitcom
“The Simpsons”.
Most tweeted-about films 2019
2019 American superhero film “Avengers: Endgame” became the highest-grossing film of all time when it was released earlier this year, grossing nearly $2.8 billion worldwide and its success was reflected on Twitter, making it the platform‟s most-talked about movie of the year. It was followed by “Toy Story 4” and American psychological thriller “Joker”.
Most tweeted-about hashtags 2019
The top news-related hashtags worldwide included NotreDame after France‟s landmark cathedral caught fire, causing irreversible damage to the building which dates back to 856 and is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture.
Other popular news hashtags included Brexit, Christ Church and Climate Strike, in line with the biggest stories that have been dominating the global news agenda.
Most tweeted-about politicians 2019
US politicians topped the list for the most tweeted-about politicians worldwide, with President Donald Trump weighing in first. Former US President Obama was next on the list, followed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Also in the top 10 is US Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, popularly known as AOC, who made waves on the US political stage this year and is a strong supporter of the Green New Deal. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and French President Emmanuel Macron were also in the top 10.
Most tweeted-about emoji 2019
The social media platform kept track emoji usage as well, finding that the laughing face with tears of joy was the most used, followed by the crying face and heart eyes emoji.
1. Which of the following can be WRONG from Most tweeted-about TV shows 2019 and Most tweeted-about films 2019?| A．No film has earned more money than “Avengers: Endgame” so far. |
| B．When you see “Joker”, there is possibility that you will feel thrilled. |
| C．“Toy Story 4” is second only to “Avengers: Endgame” in popularity. |
| D．“Game of Thrones” enjoys a great success without any criticism. |
| A．topics that people show little interest in |
| B．particular subjects that arouse people‟s attention worldwide |
| C．events that have controversial endings |
| D．subjects that are prohibited from being talked about |
| A．there is no Asian politician on the list of Most tweeted-about politicians 2019 |
| B．crying face is used more frequently than the laughing face with tears |
| C．US politicians are relatively more influential than politicians from other countries in 2019 |
| D．US Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is strongly against the Green New Deal |
8 . A Utah man who has been in a wheelchair for more than three decades has created a pheasant hunt for people like him who need help getting into the outdoors.
Clint Robinson broke his neck after being thrown off a horse at a rodeo (竞技) 32 years ago. He’s done his best to keep getting into the outdoors to hunt and fish, the Daily Herald in Provo reports.
The event he calls “Wheelchairs in the Wild” pairs people that have physical disabilities with hunters who help them with whatever they need. Many go in off-road vehicles.
“What we’re trying to do is get new injured people back out into the field trying to get them back out, enjoying the outdoors and wildlife that’s out there and show them that there’s other things that they can do besides sitting in the house doing nothing,” Robinson said.
The youngest hunter at last year’s event was 13-year-old Missy Cowley who has spina bifida (脊柱裂). Her father loves to hunt but didn’t know how to accommodate (安排) her wheelchair. Her mother, Cindy Cowley, said it was amazing to find a program that allowed her daughter to go hunting.
“We always told her when she was little, you can do everything you want to do…but we just got to figure out a way,” Cindy Cowley said. “But we really didn’t know how we were going to get her up there to hunt.”
Missy Cowley said it was a great experience that also allowed her to meet other people who use wheelchairs. “This is wonderful. I can actually do it,” Missy said. “It was really fun. And I love being outdoors.”
Jerry Schlappi, officer from Division of Wildlife resources, who helped with the event, said Robinson is a perfect role model showing other wheelchair users with disabilities that they don’t have to give up what they love.
1. What can we know about Clint Robinson from the text?| A．He began to usea wheelchair thirty years ago. |
| B．He used to be interested in hunting and fishing. |
| C．He liked riding horses before getting disabled. |
| D．He is now more physically active than before. |
| A．The benefits of his event. | B．The purposes of his event. |
| C．The processes of his even. | D．The difficulty with his event. |
| A．To show the effects of disabilities. |
| B．To explain the problem with hunters. |
| C．To show people’s interest in hunting. |
| D．To think highly of Robinson’s event. |
| A．Hope Is brought back To Hunters with Disabilities. |
| B．Man Organizes hunting Event For Wheelchair Users. |
| C．Hunting Event Is Benefiting The Physically Disabled. |
| D．Wheelchair Users Are Supposed To Get Into Nature. |
9 . My family were on a vacation in Dubai and having a good time. One day, we were visiting Abu-Dhabi,
During this process of
An officer on the phone said a local woman actually found our bag. He
On that day, at first there was real
| A．connecting | B．quarreling | C．traveling | D．working |
| A．trip | B．stop | C．hotel | D．sight |
| A．left | B．broken | C．filled | D．emptied |
| A．strangest | B．funniest | C．easiest | D．worst |
| A．hesitated | B．panicked | C．went ahead | D．cheered up |
| A．seeking | B．delivering | C．considering | D．packing |
| A．adventure | B．reservation | C．danger | D．dilemma |
| A．occupy | B．determine | C．adjust | D．abandon |
| A．destination | B．bus | C．passenger | D．terminal |
| A．watching over | B．adapting to | C．waiting for | D．dealing with |
| A．instruct | B．protect | C．aid | D．follow |
| A．enquiry | B．survey | C．visa | D．agency |
| A．purchased | B．tore | C．checked | D．afforded |
| A．praised | B．informed | C．blamed | D．warned |
| A．strange | B．uncommon | C．vacant | D．familiar |
| A．luck | B．amazement | C．pride | D．anxiety |
| A．constantly | B．amusingly | C．regularly | D．hardly |
| A．concerns | B．hello | C．thanks | D．goodbye |
| A．relaxing | B．challenging | C．inspiring | D．confusing |
| A．suggestions | B．addresses | C．numbers | D．faces |
10 . Are You a Prisoner of Perfection?
Do you struggle for a goal that is beyond your reach?
Shame and fear are often the hidden drivers of perfectionism. We believe that if we can fashion a perfectly polished personality, flash our intelligence, and perfect our humour, then no one can hurt us with criticism and we’ll win respect and approval.
Perfectionism keeps us leaning toward the future. We’re constantly evaluating ourselves in order to do better.
Being human, perfection is impossible.
| A．Do you hold an idealized vision that is impossible to realize? |
| B．A cure to perfectionism is to make room for our human shortcomings. |
| C．Do you fear that others will be horrified by what you judge about yourself? |
| D．The addiction to staying perfect protects us from any sign of being imperfect. |
| E．There’s nothing wrong with wanting to do our best and self-correcting along the way. |
| F．People who are addicted to perfection are often isolated, even if they seem outgoing and popular. |
| G．By accepting ourselves as we are and doing our best, we begin to rid the shame that drives perfectionism. |
