1 . Your Weak-Tie Friendships Matter

For nearly ten years, I have spent my Monday evenings attending rehearsals for my amateur choir (合唱队). Mondays are not my favorite day, and I often arrive in a bad mood, but by the end of the rehearsal, I usually feel energized. The singing does me good. So do the people. With a few exceptions, I would not describe my fellow choir members as close friends. We exchange brief chats, smiles and jokes — but that is enough for me to come away feeling a little better about the world.

There is no choir practice now, and won’t be for a long time. I miss it. In lockdown, I do not feel short on emotional support, but I do feel short of friendly faces and casual conversations. Another way of putting this is that I miss my “weak ties.”

In 1973, Mark Granovetter, a sociology professor at Stanford University, published a paper entitled “The Strength of Weak Ties.” Until then, scholars had assumed that an individual’s well-being depended mainly on the quality of their relationships with their close friends and family. Granovetter showed that quantity mattered, too. He categorized a person’s social world as “strong ties” and “weak ties.” His central insight was that for new ideas, weak ties are more important to us than strong ones. As Granovetter pointed out, the people whom we often talk to swim in the same pool of information as we do. We depend on acquaintances(相识的人) whom we see infrequently to bring us news of opportunities.

This was the idea behind the Pixar building, the design of which was overseen by Steve Jobs. The building has a large central hall through which employees from different departments have to pass several times a day. Jobs wanted colleagues to bump into each other and shoot the breeze (闲聊). He believed in the power of these seemingly random conversations to fire up creativity.

Encounters with weak ties can be good for our mental well-being, too. Gillian Sandstrom, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Essex, investigated the extent to which people get happiness from weak-tie relationships. She found that on days when a person had a greater number of casual interactions with weak ties — say, a local barista (咖啡师), a neighbor, a member of yoga class — they experienced more happiness and a greater sense of belonging.

For these reasons, we should continue to find ways to cultivate weak-tie relationships, during lockdown and beyond. Sandstrom adds that we can also engage in more weak-tie-style interactions with our strong ties. The goal is to let others know that you are thinking of them without asking for a great deal of time, energy or attention.

1. What can we learn about the author from the article?

A．She has been a keen singer from an early age.

B．She finds her Monday workdays quite difficult.

C．She barely knows most of her fellow choir members.

D．She has trouble maintaining friendships during lockdown.

2. According to Mark Granovetter, it’s less likely for you to get new ideas from your “strong ties” mainly because you tend to ________.

A．have the same concerns

B．avoid conflicts of interests

C．see each other too frequently

D．be exposed to similar facts and ideas

3. What is the function of the central hall in Pixar building?

A．It helps staff build friendship.

B．It allows staff to have a break.

C．It encourage staff to meet and chat.

D．It helps Jobs communicate with staff.

4. What does Sandstrom want to convey in the last paragraph?

A．We can develop weak ties into strong ties.

B．We should spend more time with strong ties.

C．We should balance weak ties with strong ties.

D．We can apply casual interactions to strong ties.

2 . If you have to attend a party or other social events where a lot of people will be present, do you feel confident that you will make a good impression on others? Or do you feel shy? In any case, you should increase your confidence at social events.

Whenever you are meeting new people at any social event, you should wear proper clothes. Before you attend the event, try to find out how other people will be dressing. If everyone else is wearing business clothes, you should, too. If the event is informal (不拘礼节的), you should wear informal clothes so that you can fit in.

If you are going to meet people from a certain business or profession (行业), try looking through a few professional magazines or checking on the Internet ahead of time to get some conversation ideas that are related to their fields of interest. This can prevent you getting tongue-tied at the event.

When you are at the event, don’t worry about whether or not other people you are talking with like you. Instead, try your best to find reasons to like them. When you are making conversation with people, be sure to keep good eye contact, and make your facial expression soft. Nod to show you’re listening. Let your face and body relax so that you can make natural gestures.

After the event is over, take a bit of time to think of your social performance and the conversation you had with people. Tell yourself exactly what you did very well at the event. For example, perhaps you made a big effort to really listen to the people you were talking with, or you may have asked several people some good questions that really got them talking. By doing so, your conversation confidence will gradually improve.

1. What should you do before attending a social event?

A．Practice making natural gestures.

B．Look through a few business magazines.

C．Find out the dressing style of other people.

D．Get as many conversation topics as possible.

2. What should you avoid at a social event according to paragraph 4?

A．Keeping eye contact with others.

B．Wearing informal clothes and shoes.

C．Caring too much about others’ opinions.

D．Nodding now and then to show your interest.

3. What’s the right thing to do after you come back from a social party?

A．Keep in touch with the people you met.

B．Consider the good job in your performance.

C．Prepare some good questions for next event.

D．Think about how to improve conversation skills.

4. What’s the best title of the text?

A．How to Take Part in Social Events

B．How to Be More Confident at Social Events

C．How to Use Body Languages at Social Events

D．How to Avoid Making Mistakes at Social Events

6 . 假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
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：在错的词下划一横线，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。

Last week, I went to a painting exhibition. Upon enter the gallery, I put on the earphones which would give me informations about all the paintings. Suddenly, I noticed that the elderly woman who didn't know how use the earphones stood anxiously in front of a painting. I rushed to her with hesitation and helped her put on the earphones. The woman thanks me for my kindness. I realized this was reaching out to others that could real bring a great moment of happiness, which was of benefit to me so much. That day when I appreciated lots of breathtaking paintings. What's more, I learned a valuable lesson from the grateful smile giving by the elderly woman.

9 . There are those who save every takeaway container. There are others who throw away every takeaway container and later wish they hadn't clone so. Wouldn't it be great if these two people could do each other a favor and just swap （交换）?

Across the world, those with too much "junk”, and those who can't get enough of it, are exchanging and sharing their stuff online on a network called Freecycle. On Freecycle, people can swap with others who live within a few miles of them. All you have to do is list whatever you have to give away or whatever you're looking for. Take a quick visit to the website, and you can get your hands on a baby stroller, a dictionary, or a pair of shoes. Just sign up and make sure you turn up to collect your new-- or , rather , old—item.

“Freecycling" isn't just a trend, though. It's becoming the accepted way of doing things. If your child has grown up, what better way to deal with his or her stroller than to give it to another kid? And if you're moving house, your expensive necessities, even beds and cupboards, can just be freecycled.

Admittedly? a lot of the items carry warnings, such as “TV with remote control missing” or ^saucepan （no lid）”. And some listings are a bit bossy, too, as in “ladies' shoes — must be collected TONIGHT! !

It's also possible to get a bit addicted to Freecycle. A "bamboo cocktail bar"， a   “cupboard with 20 very small drawers”, a huge pile of ^squares of cloth, great for craft projects! It all sounded so good to one of my flatmates that she became an example of a ^Freecycle addict”. But that didn't matter, of course. Everything she got could later be freecycled off again.

1. Why does the author mention two kinds of people in paragraph 1?

A．To lead to the topic of Freecycle.

B．To compare their different habits.

C．To call on people to help each other.

D．To help them exchange takeaway containers.

2. What can people do on Freecycle?

A．Buy cheap things.

B．Make friends online.

C．Store their own things.

D．Offer unwanted items for free.

3. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A．Everything on Freecycle is expensive.

B．My flatmate has nothing to do with Freecycle.

C．It is possible to get useless things from Freecycle.

D．It is easy for some people to get crazy about Freecycle.

4. What can we say about freecycling?

A．It is not a possible trend.	B．It is win-win for some people.
C．It can cause some problems.	D．It is likely to produce waste.

10 . Scott, 72, an elderly woman lives in Massachusetts whose home was in badly need of repairs. "There were _______ in the ceiling, and some wild animals were getting in,” Kinney, the electrician _______, adding the lady also didn't have running water and her kitchen sink was _________ and leaking.

After _______ the job, Kinney went home, but he kept thinking about Scott, and that she lived alone and couldn't _______   other repairs.

So the electrician decided to _______ -first, by working on Scott's home by himself for free. But he didn’t _______ there. After cleaning up and doing a ton of yard work for Scott, Kinney decided to _______ Facebook fundraiser （资金募集）to offer more _______. Within hours, the fundraiser received more than $3500. Today, since their ____________ first began, more than $105,000 has been ____________ to help Kinney pay for materials.

“The ____________ kept growing and support kept pouring in,“ he told CNN, adding that local restaurants have even donated ____________ to the skilled volunteers. So far, the volunteers have managed to fix a（an） ____________ electrical system, heating system, roof；windows, paint job in Scott's home, and also ____________ new grasses in her backyard.

“She's been here by herself for over 10 years, so I'm ____________ it's a big change for her, but she's warmed up to everybody," he explained. "She's so ____________ ; she got all types of new friends. She's out here making lunch for us, laughing joking. It's just a ____________ to witness."

The electrician said he ____________ wants to offer services to other elderly people in the same ____________ and hopefully, around the country.

1.

A．holes

B．roofs

C．nests

D．windows

2.

A．hesitated

B．sobbed

C．remembered

D．understood

3.

A．cheap

B．broken

C．plastic

D．different

4.

A．forgetting

B．refusing

C．slowing

D．completing

5.

A．like

B．allow

C．afford

D．require

6.

A．make a deal

B．set a goal

C．take notes

D．take measures

7.

A．stop

B．check

C．regret

D．wait

8.

A．find

B．create

C．mend

D．tell

9.

A．materials

B．water

C．help

D．volunteers

10.

A．meetings

B．discussions

C．repairs

D．wishes

11.

A．raised

B．spent

C．wasted

D．lent

12.

A．ambition

B．official

C．project

D．mood

13.

A．money

B．clothes

C．power

D．meals

14.

A．advanced

B．new

C．expensive

D．stainless

15.

A．planted

B．cut

C．bought

D．painted

16.

A．worried

B．sure

C．excited

D．embarrassed

17.

A．happy

B．upset

C．sick

D．confused

18.

A．story

B．test

C．play

D．wonder

19.

A．hardly

B．even

C．always

D．fortunately

20.

A．website

B．nation

C．community

D．house