1 . We are surrounded by people trying to make the world a better place. Peace activists bring enemies together so they can get to know one another and feel each other’s pain. School leaders try to attract a diverse set of students so each can understand what it’s like to walk in the others’ shoes.

It is true that people who are empathetic (共情的) are more sensitive to the perspectives and sufferings of others. They are more likely to make sympathetic moral judgments. The problem comes when we try to turn feeling into action. Empathy makes you more aware of other people’s sufferings, but it’s not clear whether it actually motivates you to take moral action or prevents you from taking immoral action. For example, in the early days of the Holocaust, Nazi prison guards sometimes wept as they killed Jewish women and children, but they still did it.

Empathy directs you toward moral action, but it doesn’t seem to help much when that action comes at a personal cost. You may feel painful for the homeless guy on the other side of the street, but the chances are that you are not going to cross the street to give him a dollar. Studies investigating the link between empathy and moral action suggest that empathy is not a major player when it comes to moral motivation. Its contribution is slight in children, modest in adults, and nonexistent when costs are significant.

Nobody is against empathy. However, it’s not enough. These days empathy has become a shortcut. It has become a way to experience delicious moral emotions without confronting the weaknesses in our nature that prevent us from actually acting upon them. It has become a way to experience the illusion (幻觉) of moral progress without having to do the nasty work of making moral judgments. Teaching empathy is a safe way for schools and other institutions to seem blameless without risking dispute or hurting anybody’s feelings.

People who actually perform pro-social action don’t only feel for those who are suffering, they feel it necessary to act by a sense of duty. Empathy is less important. If you want to make the world a better place, help people debate, understand, reform, revere and enact their moral principles. Accept that principles conflict.

1. Why does the author mention the Holocaust in paragraph 2?

A．To show that empathy is limited in preventing people from wrongdoings.

B．To prove that empathic people are more likely to make compassionate moral judgments.

C．To explain that empathy is helpful for moral teaching.

D．To criticize the immoral actions of Nazis.

2. What will empathetic people probably do when they see the homeless?

A．Reach out to them.	B．Ignore them.
C．Feel sorry for them.	D．Raise money for them.

3. According to paragraph 4, which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

A．People are enthusiastic about empathy.

B．Teaching empathy is a quicker way to achieve moral education.

C．Empathy alone is not sufficient.

D．People are unwilling to take actual actions.

4. According to the author, what’s the best way to make the world a better place?

A．Try to understand what it’s like to walk in the others’ shoes.

B．Be more sensitive to the perspectives and sufferings of others.

C．Stop teaching empathy since it is only a sideshow in moral education.

D．Take on the duty to act and make real moral progress.

2 . Emoji(表情符号) and Workplace Communication

In Asia, messaging platforms are growing rapidly, with users in the hundreds of millions, both at work and play.     1    . It’s been reported that 76 percent of employees in some western countries are using emojis at work.

Written communications can often read as cold and dull. Using emojis can add humor and feeling, keeping intention clear.     2    , encouraging better and more frequent communication.

In any given office, employees can range from age 22 to 70 and beyond, and finding common ground in communication style can be a challenge.     3    . While the younger generations prefer to communicate visually, for those used to working with traditional tools like email, it may feel like a learning curve(曲线). The good news is that it’s simple to learn and can be worth the effort.

There is also the matter of tone(语气). Who hasn’t received an email so annoying that it ruined an entire day?     4    . Emoji can help communication feel friendlier, and even a serious note can be softened with an encouraging smile.

    5    , and emoji can contribute directly to that positive outcome. And when your employees begin adding smiling emojis to their business communication, you’ll know you have succeeded in improving your work culture.

A．Message with emojis feel more conversational

B．Even a formal email can seem cold and unfriendly

C．Sending smiling faces to colleagues may seem strange

D．The popularity of these platforms is spreading globally

E．Giving employees the tools enables them to communicate honestly

F．Studies show that friendlier communication leads to a happier workplace

G．An easy way to bring all work generations together is with a chat platform

3 . On a recent afternoon, some 60 years after they graduated from grammar school, Kathleen Rys, 72, and her sister Lorraine O’Kelly, 70, sat down and had a meal with a classmate, Bruce Smit, 71 for the first time.

In the 1950s, Lorraine and Kathleen Rys’ family moved from Chicago to Monee. As new kids at Monee Elementary School, they soon found themselves on the outs with other students.

“I would be with the other guys and see Kathleen walking down the hallway, her head down, holding her books, walking slowly. And all of us guys would be flat against the wall until she passed. Then we’d burst into laughter. How rude is that? It’s just crazy.” said Smit, a doctor whose wife, Tammy, organized the meeting.

The women said none of the teachers cared about it. “We just kept it to ourselves.” Lorraine said.

Over the years, Tammy Smit said, “Bruce would just start to cry at times. He’d wonder what happened to the sisters, if they landed OK.” One day a few weeks ago, Tammy took to the internet and found Mary O’Kelly, Lorraine’s daughter, and offered to set up a meeting. The idea of revisiting the pain was not well- received by Kathleen, who had never married, let alone gone on a date. It took some convincing, but Lorraine finally got Kathleen to agree to meet with Bruce.

Bruce broke into tears. “I’m so ashamed, so embarrassed,” he said. “But I’m so happy you’re still here and that I can finally apologize.” He said he hopes his apology will encourage others to seek forgiveness for the pain they make on others. Lorraine said, “This is a beautiful thing. It’s just wonderful that a person from 60 years ago can ask for forgiveness. It’s like a miracle to us. It’s a healing to us.”

1. What can we learn from the first three paragraphs?

A．Kathleen made her classmates afraid of her at school.

B．Kathleen was once hurt by her classmates at school.

C．Bruce Smit asked his wife to organize the meeting.

D．Bruce Smit spoke ill of Kathleen.

2. What does “it” probably refer to in the 4nd paragraph?

A．The guys’ meeting.	B．Kathleen’s slow pace.
C．The guys’ apology.	D．Kathleen’s suffering.

3. How did Kathleen first feel about the meeting?

A．Angry.

B．Excited.

C．Anxious.

D．Unwilling.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．Bruce was embarrassed for his apology.	B．The other guys apologized to the two sisters.
C．Bruce and the two sisters felt a sense of relief.	D．Lorraine thought the apology came a little late.

4 . How to Level up Your Self-Control

By definition, self-control is the ability to do something that benefits your long-term goals, instead of something that might satisfy your immediate desires.    1    --we end up sacrificing the well-being of our future selves all too easily.

    2    ?

Angela Duckworth, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, says allocating resources between your present self and future self is an ongoing struggle. For example, exhibiting self-control over spending time on video games and social media, two of the most common temptations（诱惑）of the current era, means battling against age-old mechanisms in your brain.

If you're willing to look deeply into your tendencies and weak points, you can recognize the handful of problems that you need to work on.

    3    To improve self-control at work, Duckworth first recommends taking a future-oriented approach to your day, such as planning breaks and the time for checking emails in advance.

The problem of looking at your cell phone too often, say, can be solved by putting it on mute or, better yet, sticking it in your bag until lunch.    4    .

Finally, Duckworth advises laying a foundation of self-control that you can build of in the future.    5    because of too little sleep the night before, or an insufficient meal in the morning. By practicing healthier living away from the workplace, you can gather the strength and stamina（毅力）to help you control your worst urges when it matters most.

A．One place to start would be the office

B．What problems do you need to work on

C．We've all experienced unproductive workdays

D．But for many of us, short-term satisfactions are irresistible

E．Why is exercising proper self-control so tricky for some, and how to do better

F．If you can resist resigning you may achieve more on your overall self-control

G．Removing the temptation from sight is key to ensuring you're faithful to your mission

5 . How to Help Others in Your Community (社区)

Helping others in your community is a great way to spread joy to others and get the most out of life.     1    

You can choose to become a volunteer. Volunteering is great way to help others out in your community. Look around for a homeless shelter or soup kitchen and spend some time there doing whatever needs to be done.     2     For example, try tutoring homeless kids at the local shelter so that they can stay in school and not fall behind, and also you get a sense of achievement.

    3     You can give away money to some organizations that help others. If you don’t have money to spare, look through your unused items (物品) and see what you can part with that is in good condition. They are needed by a local food bank or shelter.

You can choose to redirect gifts.     4     You can invite them to do voluntary work to celebrate your birthday. You can also suggest they donate the money they intend to use to buy gifts for you.

You can stop to help. There are many cases where you can stop to give a helping hand. If you see people on the street struggling to carry all their groceries, stop to help     5     However, keep in mind that they may not always need help. But never feel discouraged when your kindness is turned down.

A．Usually they are grateful to accept your help.

B．You can choose to donate to important causes.

C．There are a number of chances you can take advantage of.

D．You can help your neighbors without spending much money.

E．Donate the gifts you receive to poor children in your community.

F．Not only will this help others, but also you will gain certain benefit.

G．Instead of getting new gifts every birthday, have your friends and family help others.

6 . Having hundreds of friends online is no substitute for a handful of close friends in real life. Researchers discovered that people with only a few friends were at least as happy as those with far more if many of theirs were online. The number of ''peripheral others'', someone connected with online — former classmates and coworkers, for example — had no connection with how satisfied they felt.

Scientists did their study using data from two online surveys conducted on 1,496 people by a non-profit research organization. People taking part in the study revealed their ages, the make-up of their social networks, how often they had different types of social interactions, and their own feelings of well-being. They included details of how often and how they interacted with family or neighbours, and whether they included people who provided services for them in their networks. The number of close friends someone had was the only thing that influenced how satisfied they were with their social life.

''Loneliness has less to do with the number of friends you have, and more to do with how you feel about your friends,'' said Dr Bruine, an expert of the study. ''If you feel lonely, it may be more helpful to make a positive connection with a friend than to try and seek out new people to meet.''

In the study, they found older people tended to have smaller social networks. Younger people's were larger but this was mostly made up of ''peripheral others'' — not true friends, just people they knew — and did not contribute to their happiness.

Even variations in the number of family members or neighbours somebody spent time with did not affect how happy they were with their social life. Dr Bruine said her research echoed other findings showing people would be happier if a larger proportion of their online friends were actually their friends in reality.

She added, ''Stereotypes of aging tend to paint older adults in many cultures as sad and lonely. But the research shows that older adults' smaller networks didn't weaken social satisfaction and well-being. In fact, older adults tend to report better well-being than younger adults.''

1. What has a good influence on one's happiness according to the study?

A．Having impersonal networks of friends.

B．Meeting with close friends face to face.

C．Helping familiar coworkers.

D．Keeping in touch with family members online.

2. What did the 1,496 people taking part in the study have to do?

A．Keep off using the Internet.

B．Show their attitudes to happiness.

C．Reveal their social life thoroughly.

D．Find ''peripheral others'' from their friends.

3. Who is more likely to be attacked by loneliness from the study?

A．Parents living with their children.

B．Older adults with fewer friends online.

C．Those having fewer relatives or neighbours.

D．Young people without friends in reality.

4. What does the underlined word ''paint'' mean in the last paragraph?

A．treat	B．draw
C．describe	D．criticize

7 . In 1973, I was teaching elementary school. Each day, 27 kids entered “The Thinking Laboratory.” That was the name students voted for after deciding that “Room 104” was too dull.

Freddy was an average student, but not an average person. He had the rare balance of fun and compassion（同情）. He would laugh the loudest over fun and be the saddest over anyone’s misfortune.

Before the school year ended, I gave the kids a special gift, T-shirts with the words “Verbs Are Your Friends ” on them. I had advised the kids that while verbs（动词）may seem dull , most of the fun things they do throughout their lives will be verbs.

Through the years, I’d run into former students who would provide updates on old classmates. I learned that Freddy did several jobs after his graduation from high school and remained the same caring person I met forty years before . Once, while working overnight at a store, he let a homeless man sleep in his truck. Another time, he lent a friend money to buy a house.

Just last year, I was conducting a workshop when someone knocked at the classroom door. A woman excused the interruption and handed me an envelope. I stopped teaching and opened it up. Inside were the “Verbs” shirt and a note from Freddy’s mother. “Freddy passed away on Thanksgiving. He wanted you to have this. ”

I told the story to the class. As sad as it was, I couldn’t help smiling. Although Freddy was taken from us, we all took something from Freddy.

1. What do the underlined words “The Thinking Laboratory” in paragraph 1 refer to?

A．The elementary school where the kids studied.

B．“Room104”in which the kids studied.

C．The workshop in which the kids carried out experiments.

D．The high school which was fun as well as dull.

2. What can we learn about the author?

A．She hardly kept in touch with her former students.

B．She wrote the passage in 2013 or so.

C．She was very strict with her students.

D．She gave the kids special gifts after the school year.

3. Which of the following words can best describe Freddy?

A．modest and daring.	B．outstanding and calm.
C．generous and creative.	D．warm-hearted and caring.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards Freddy?

A．Cautious.	B．Disapproving.
C．Uninterested.	D．Appreciative.

8 . How to Keep a Relationship Healthy and Strong

Are you new to experiencing relationships? Well, let me give you advice on having a healthy and possibly long­term relationship.

    1     Don’t hide things from them; don’t lie. Getting them to trust you is the most important element in any relationship. So please be honest and they’ll learn to open up to you.

Make sure you give them respect. Now respect isn’t just simply treating her or him nicely. There’s a lot more to it. You have to learn to adjust to their liking.    2     Don’t just think about yourself; think about what your partner needs out of it as well.

    3     Always be willing to help them and give them honesty and positiveness at the same time. Make them feel you are someone they can really count on and build a future with. This is an important step in a relationship. Your partner has to be able to count on you when needed.

Make sure you have a good sense of humor with them. Laughter is the key to happiness. Laugh a lot with them, joke with them. Laughter may seem silly, but it’s the secret to a lot in life. It will keep the sparks alive.    4    

Make sure the communication is good. This goes along with trust, but always communicate how you feel, even if it’s something that upsets you. Instead of screaming, talk to them.    5     It’s important to communicate this to them, not keep it bottled up.

A．Show them your personality.

B．Be an honest person with them.

C．Make sure you are encouraging to your partners.

D．Laughter keeps the relationship strong and lasting.

E．Don’t start to neglect them and make them feel unwanted.

F．Basically, learn to study your partners’ moods, wants and needs.

G．If they did something that made you unhappy, tell them about it in a respectful manner.

9 . We need to vent（发泄）about the place we work sometimes. Whether it is the long hours you put in ,an unreasonable boss, or lack of recognition for your efforts-every workplace has enough fuel to lighten the frustration（挫折）.

    1    .And it is good to the productivity in the office too. Vanessa Pouthier, a researcher at the University of Melbourne in Australia, studied a team of nurses and health professionals at a hospital in the United States.    2    .Pouthier observed the joking and complaining that went on for 12 months and realized“it helps people to process stress and frustration,”Pouthier told ABC Radio Perth.

    3    ,there will always be a corner of the office or the lunch room, where a small or large collective of employees are venting to some degree.“Generally, people don’t think there is any value to it,”Pouthier says.    4    ;she had to look into other fields, such as linguistics, to better understand its functions.

Whether it’s politely debating the effectiveness of how an office runs, or complaining about the bosses, Pouthier found that the complaining session served as bonding function.    5    .

“It allows people to recognize how similar they are in the challenges they are facing every day and how they feel about them,”she says.

A．However, few people know how this happens

B．No matter what kind of environment you work in

C．It can even help staff to work through their negative feelings

D．Whether bosses accept complaints from their employees or not

E．But this common activity in every workplace was so under -researched

F．It was found that there’s actually benefits to these kinds of complaining session

G．Good news is, this workplace complaining is actually beneficial to your mental well-being.

10 . In the tenth grade，I began working for free at a vet’s that was run by a friend of my parents．I wanted to get experience for what I thought would be my future job．However，on one particular Saturday morning I learnt something perhaps more important．

The hospital was in the middle of one of the poorer sections of the city and some people could only pay for the most basic treatments．On this Saturday，a man and his young son，who was probably about 7 years old，walked in with a small cat in a cardboard box．There was something wrong with the cat’s left eye．But the man could not afford to pay for the cost of the medicine．He kept quiet for a while，and then he asked where the nearest animal shelter was．Hearing this，his son cried and started to argue with him．All of a sudden，an older woman who was sitting in the waiting room stood up，walked up to the counter，and told the man that she would pay for the cost．The man thanked her and the son got to keep a healthy cat．

I always thought it was the right thing to help out a needy person，but I only saw people do acts of kindness on TV or in the movies．What the woman did made me believe that these things do happen in real life，and quite often．

Now，when I can’t decide whether to help someone who is in need，I think of this woman，and then I have the courage to step up to the plate sometimes other people follow．

1. We can infer that a vet’s is most probably a hospital for       ．

A．kids	B．the poor
C．animals	D．women

2. For what purpose did the writer work at the vet’s？

A．To help his parents’ friend with his work．

B．To make some pocket money．

C．To learn more about society．

D．To gain some work experience．

3. What would the man probably do with the cat if the woman didn’t help him？

A．Give it up．

B．Take it home without treatment．

C．Give it to the woman．

D．Give it to someone on the street．