1 . Claire Wyatt, a 24-year-old British volunteer, led eight Cambodians living with disabilities on a 155-mile bike ride from Phnom Penh, the nation’s capital, to Siem Reap to raise money and deliver supplies to those in need in the coronavirus pandemic(新冠病毒大流行).
“Leading this trip was an incredibly special experience for me,” said Claire. “Not only was I encouraged by the determination of each and every rider, but also the team taught me every day not to focus on their disability.”
When she was first asked to lead the trip, Claire admitted, she was feeling nervous about her team traveling such a distance in just a few days because cycling with a disability can come with added physical and emotional challenges.
One team member named Dy, who lost an arm in an accident, biked using just one arm to balance. Another named Vulta could only pedal on one side due to polio(小儿麻痹). Despite all the difficulties, Claire realized quickly that she didn’t have to worry about her team. She saw them deal with rough area that she had seen abled cyclists give up on before.
The volunteers covered the distance in just four days, not only helping so many people across the country, but also overcoming huge difficulties to get there.
“The best thing about this ride is that the riders have all volunteered their time to do this. They are so enthusiastic about Cambodia and raising money for others in need,” said Claire. “The money raised will feed 99 families in Siem Reap.”
Claire recalled her favorite moment of the experience, when one of the cyclists pushed an exhausted teammate up a hill for 2 miles. “One moment that stood out for me was when Naret, our only female rider, was feeling tired,” she said. “Her fellow rider gently put his hand on her back and pushed her for 2 miles! They were encouraging each other to push through the tiredness.”
1. Why did Claire and eight Cambodians cycle 155 miles?| A．To challenge themselves. | B．To help out needy people. |
| C．To take part in a competition. | D．To raise money for the disabled. |
| A．She might be injured on the road. | B．She would be unable to lead the team. |
| C．Her team might be looked down on. | D．Her team couldn’t finish the route. |
| A．Confident, calm and friendly. | B．Honest, patient and open-minded. |
| C．Strong-minded, brave and caring. | D．Curious, creative and experienced. |
| A．It could have taken less time. |
| B．It was amazing and inspiring. |
| C．It changed her idea about human nature. |
| D．It was more difficult than she had expected. |
2 . 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 fulfil, 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 broach 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 vibrant colors. Such friendships begin with small talk.
1. What is described in the first paragraph?| 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 are fond of heavy subjects. |
| 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．Reputation of Small Talk | B．Ways of Understanding Personality |
| C．Significance of Small Talk | D．Challenges of Deep Conversation |
3 . The Internet has opened up a whole new online world for us to meet, chat and go where we’ve never been before.
But just as in face to face communication, there are some rules of behavior that should be followed when on line.
For anything you’re about to send: ask yourself, “Would I say this to the person’s face?” if the answer is no, rewrite and reread.
If someone in the chat room is rude to you, your instinct (本能) is to fire back in the same manner. But try not to do so.
It is not polite to ask others personal questions such as their age, sex and marital status. Unless you know the person very well, and you are both comfortable with sharing personal information, don’t ask such questions.
| A．It’s natural that there are some people who speak rudely or make mistakes online. |
| B．Repeat the process till you feel sure that you’d feel comfortable saying the words to the person’s face. |
| C．Everyone was new to the network once. |
| D．The basic rule is simple: treat others in the same way you would want to be treated. |
| E．When you send short messages to a person online, you must say something beautiful to hear. |
| F．You should either ignore the person, or use your chat software to block their messages. |
| G．If you do decide to tell someone about a mistake, point it out politely. |
4 . Concerts should be a fun and enjoyable occasion for everyone attending them,including the musicians.No matter what type of concert one is attending,he is still expected to follow the rules concert etiquette(礼仪）.
Classical music concerts are often events where concert etiquette is considered to be very important.One should generally arrive a few minutes before the show starts,so he can be in his seat at the beginning of the first musical performance.If he arrives late,it may be considered rude to walk in and take his seat in the middle of a musical performance.
Rock and heavy metal concert etiquette is very relaxed.
| A．This will usually be announced before the concert begins. |
| B．Instead,he should wait for one song to end before taking his seat. |
| C．Rock concert goers,on the other hand,can usually get a little louder. |
| D．People are not usually discouraged from talking at these types of concerts. |
| E．In large groups of people like this,it is not unusual to touch others at times. |
| F．Concert etiquette for other types of concerts is usually a little more relaxed. |
| G．And the concert etiquette can be different,depending on what type of concert it is. |
5 . An interview is a discussion with someone in which you try to get information from them.
A great deal is provided by this personal contact: you are another human being, and interviewees will respond to you, in bodily presence, in an entirely different way from the way that they would have reacted to questionnaires that came through their letterboxes or to emails.
If you take the trouble to schedule a visit, you can be more or less guaranteed of a response. Most importantly, though, you will be able to relate to interviewees while you are talking to them.
| A．This is a ready-made support for you. |
| B．Its nature varies with the nature of the interviews. |
| C．You will be able to hear and understand what they are saying. |
| D．Your decision should influence the way that you look, sound and behave. |
| E．The information may be facts or opinions or attitudes or any combination of these. |
| F．Each involves the interviewer in fact-to-face contact or telephone contact with another person. |
| G．You will be using these clues to make informed guesses about what the interviewees might really mean. |
6 . 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.
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.
You can choose to redirect gifts.
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
| 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. |
7 . When a friend comes to you after a stressful day, how do you comfort them? Do you let them complain? Do you pour them a glass of wine? Those could work. But a new study finds that a very effective technique is also simple and easy — hugging.
Michael Murphy is a psychology expert at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He wanted to know if people who received hugs regularly could handle stress and conflict belief. " Individuals who report perceiving the availability of a network of supportive individuals lead to show better adaptation when faced with stress. But your just having a support network does not mean that you definitely feel that support, he said. "So some researchers have argued that many of the behaviors we use to support others who are stressed might actually be counterproductive, because behaviors might unintentionally communicate to others that they're not able to manage stress." he added.
Murphy and his team interviewed 404 men and women every evening for two weeks. During these interviews, the participants were asked a simple yes — or — no question — whether somebody had hugged them that day — and a simple yes or no question of whether they had experienced conflict or tension with somebody that day.
They also were asked questions about their social interactions — how many social，interactions they had that day and responded to questions about negative and positive mood states . And the researchers found that individuals who experienced a conflict were not as negatively affected if they received a hug that day as were participants who experienced conflict and didn't get a hug. Murphy and his team also saw that people who received a hug didn't carry the negative effect to the next day, while those who did not receive a hug would. The findings are in the journal PLOS ONE.
Murphy does include this warning: "So our findings should not be taken as evidence that people should just start hugging anyone and everyone who seems distressed. A hug from one boss at work or a stranger on the street could be viewed as neither agreeable nor positive. " The idea is to relieve stress. Not add to it.
1. What does the first paragraph serve as?| A．A lead-in | B．A background |
| C．An argument | D．A summary. |
| A．To test the influence of hugging. |
| B．To find out causes of their conflicts. |
| C．To ask for advice on relieving stress. |
| D．To seek ways to comfort troubled people. |
| A．The interview results prove their findings. |
| B．A boss should comfort workers by hugging. |
| C．There are some limitations of their findings. |
| D．People should hug others regularly and actively. |
| A．Everyone Needs Hugs | B．A Hug Could Do Anything |
| C．How to Comfort Your Friends | D．Hugs Seem to Reduce Stress |
8 . When we are young we are taught that it’s wrong to lie and we should always tell the truth. Unfortunately, most children lie even if they’re told not to. Research carried out at the Institute of Child Study at Toronto Univercity has shown that this might not be such a bad thing. Apparently (显然地), children who tell lies when they’re two years old have a good chance of becoming successful adults (成年人).
According to the research, at the age of two, 20 per cent of children lie. At the age of three, 50 per cent lie, and at four almost 90 per cent lie. By the age of 12 almost every child tells lies.
Lying needs much brain work, and the better the lie is, the more work the brain has to do. By training the brain early, researchers believe children will be able to think more clearly when they are adults.
Recent research, carried out by the Science Museum in London, has shown some interesting facts about the way we lie as adults. According to the research, the average British man tells three lies every day; that’s over 1,000 lies a year. However, the average woman apparently only lies twice a day.
Most people think women are better liars (说谎者) than men although in fact they tell fewer lies. Popular women’s lies include ‘Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine’, ‘I don’t know where it is, I haven’t touched it’, and ‘It wasn’t that expensive’.
Some people say you can lie as long as it’s a white lie. A white lie is a lie told to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. One of the most common lies for both men and women is ‘It’s just what I’ve always wanted’, said after opening a present from their partner.
1. What will happen to young children who lie?| A．They will possibly do wrong later. |
| B．They’re likely to succeed in the future. |
| C．They will keep lying when they grow up. |
| D．They may have a good chance of losing others’ trust. |
| A．Older children tell bigger lies than younger ones. |
| B．As they grow, they often lie about their age. |
| C．The older they are, the more likely they lie. |
| D．It’s quite natural for them to tell lies. |
| A．Men lie more than women. | B．Women are better liars than men. |
| C．Women’s lies are usually not serious. | D．Men sometimes have to lie to women. |
| A．You know me so well. | B．I don’t like the present. |
| C．You are good at picking presents. | D．I haven’t received a present I really like. |
9 . Around this time a few years ago, it was common to see videos of friends on social media having a bucket of icy water thrown on them. Known as the “ice bucket challenge”, it was created as a way to raise money for the medical condition ALS. But now, there’s a new challenge and this time, no water is involved.
What is it? Well, think of a fruit that you’d never normally sink your teeth into. Perhaps you’ve got it: a lemon. While we enjoy using lemons to add flavor to dishes, very few of us would actually eat one as we’d eat an apple or an orange.
But the horrible taste is the precise reason why the “lemon face challenge” is taking off. Participants bite into a lemon, taking a selfie as they do it before posting the photo online. The fun is all about expression people make as all that citric acid（柠檬酸）hits their taste buds（味蕾）. Every expression seems to say, “This is worse than freezing water.”
The serious side to this trend is the good cause it’s all in aid of. The challenge aims to raise awareness of a rare brain cancer that affects young children. It was started by Aubregh Nicholas, an 11-year-old US kid. She was diagnosed with this rare brain cancer herself in September 2017, but has since raised almost $50000 to cover her medical expenses thanks to the challenge.
If a challenge is going to raise publicity and contributions from people, it has to be something interesting and original. That way the ice bucket challenge took off in 2014 and it explains why so many people are now sharing their lemon faces. There are a lot of stories about the downside of social media these days. The charity challenges, however, show how online culture can unite the world and bring help to the people who most need it.
1. Why is the icy bucket challenge mentioned in the article?| A．to show how charity gained its popularity online. |
| B．to introduce a similar challenge that raises money for charity. |
| C．to attract people’s attention to a rare disease. |
| D．to prove its popularity around the world. |
| A．It raises more money than ever before. |
| B．It is started by the people who suffer rare diseases. |
| C．It brings people together easily and quickly. |
| D．It causes little doubt among people . |
| A．go away suddenly | B．become successful and popular |
| C．remove your clothes | D．take a break |
| A．positive | B．indifferent |
| C．negative | D．ambiguous |
10 . Prosocial behaviors are those intended to help other people. Behaviors that can be described as prosocial include feeling empathy(同感) and concern for others and behaving in ways to help or benefit other people.
Prosocial behavior has long posed a challenge to social scientists seeking to understand why people engage in helping behaviors that are beneficial to others, but costly to the individual performing the action. Why would people do something that benefits someone else but offers no immediate benefit to the doer?
Psychologists suggest that there are a number of reasons why people engage in prosocial behavior. In many cases, such behaviors are fostered during childhood and adolescence as adults encourage children to share, act kindly, and help others. Prosocial behaviors are often seen as being compelled by a number of factors including egoistic reasons (doing things to improve one's selfimage), reciprocal benefits (doing something nice for someone so that they may one day return the favor), and more altruistic reasons (performing actions purely out of empathy for another individual).
Characteristics of the situation can also have a powerful impact on whether or not people engage in prosocial actions. The bystander effect is one of the most notable examples of how the situation can impact helping behaviors. The bystander effect refers to the tendency for people to become less likely to assist a person in distress when there are a number of other people also present. For example, if you drop your purse and several items fall out on the ground, the likelihood that someone will stop and help you decreases if there are many other people present. This same sort of thing can happen in cases where someone is in serious danger, such as when someone is involved in a car accident. In some cases, witnesses might assume that since there are so many other present, someone else will have surely already called for help.
Why do people help in some situations but not in others? Experts have discovered a number of different situational variables that contribute to (and sometimes interfere with) prosocial behaviors. First, the more people that are present decreases the amount of personal responsibility people feel in a situation. People also tend to look to others for how to respond in such situations, particularly if the event contains some level of ambiguity. Fear of being judged by other members of the group also plays a role. People sometimes fear leaping to assistance, only to discover that their help was unwanted or unwarranted. In order to avoid being judged by other bystanders, people simply take no action.
Experts have suggested that some key things must happen in order for a person to take action.
1. Prosocial behaviors are motivated for all the following reasons EXCEPT ________.| A．empathy for another individual | B．instant benefits of helping others |
| C．parental influences in the early life | D．the desire to better one's selfimage |
| A．peace | B．despair |
| C．comfort | D．trouble |
| A．When hearing an injured lady crying for help, the neighbors didn't take action. |
| B．Seeing an old man slipping on the icy road, many people volunteered to help. |
| C．A woman was to give birth on the train and you were the only doctor there. |
| D．On the scene of your colleague's traffic accident, you called the police for help |
| A．possible benefits of prosocial behavior |
| B．various reasons for prosocial behavior |
| C．situational influences on prosocial behavior |
| D．skills and knowledge to provide assistance |
