1 . We’ve all been there: in a lift, in line at the bank or on an airplane, surrounded by people who are, like us, deeply focused on their smartphones or, worse, struggling with the uncomfortable silence.

What’s the problem? It’s possible that we all have compromised conversational intelligence. It’s more likely that none of us start a conversation because it’s awkward and challenging, or we think it’s annoying and unnecessary. But the next time you find yourself among strangers, consider that small talk is worth the trouble. Experts say it’s an invaluable social practice that results in big benefits.

Dismissing small talk as unimportant is easy, but we can’t forget that deep relationships wouldn’t

even exist if it weren’t for casual conversation. Small talk is the grease(润滑剂) for social communication, says Bernardo Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast. ＂Almost every great love story and each big business deal begins with small talk,＂ he explains. ＂The key to successful small talk is learning how to connect with others, not just communicate with them.＂

In a 2014 study, Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at UBC, invited people on their way into a coffee shop. One group was asked to seek out an interaction(互动) with its waiter; the other, to speak only when necessary. The results showed that those who chatted with their server reported significantly higher positive feelings and a better coffee shop experience. ＂It’s not that talking to the waiter is better than talking to your husband,＂ says Dunn. ＂But interactions with peripheral(边缘的) members of our social network matter for our well-being also.＂

Dunn believes that people who reach out to strangers feel a significantly greater sense of belonging, a bond with others. Carducci believes developing such a sense of belonging starts with small talk. ＂Small talk is the basis of good manners,＂ he says.

1. What phenomenon is described in the first paragraph?

A．Addiction to smartphones.

B．Inappropriate behaviours in public places.

C．Absence of communication between strangers.

D．Impatience with slow service.

2. What is important for successful small talk according to Carducci?

A．Showing good manners.	B．Relating to other people.
C．Focusing on a topic.	D．Making business deals.

3. What does the coffee-shop study suggest about small talk?

A．It improves family relationships.	B．It raises people’s confidence.
C．It matters as much as a formal talk.	D．It makes people feel good.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Conversation Counts	B．Ways of Making Small Talk
C．Benefits of Small Talk	D．Uncomfortable Silence

2 . Are You a Prisoner of Perfection?

Do you struggle for a goal that is beyond your reach?     1     Are you setting yourself up for failure and shame when you can’t achieve the unachievable? Understanding what drives perfectionism is the first step toward releasing this self-created anchor that keeps us stuck.

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.

    2     Politicians who display a desperate need to be right and refuse to acknowledge mistakes or uncertainty are often driven by a secret shame. They fear that showing vulnerability(弱点) will expose them to the accusation that they’re weak. They stick to a desire to be right, perfect, and polished, even when it’s obvious that the emperor has no clothes.

Perfectionism keeps us leaning toward the future. We’re constantly evaluating ourselves in order to do better.     3     However, if we can’t relax and enjoy lighter moments, then we become prisoners of our perfectionism. We get painfully self-conscious and take ourselves too seriously. Sadly, we deprive(剥夺) ourselves of the simple pleasure of enjoying the moment and being ourselves.

    4     We realize that failing at any enterprise doesn’t mean that we are a failure. Without failures, we’ll never learn from our mistakes; we’ll never move forward in our lives. Those who succeed have made countless mistakes. The important thing is to learn from our error, forgive ourselves and move on.

Being human, perfection is impossible.     5       Releasing ourselves from the desire to protect our image, we’re freed to sail gracefully through our successes and failures—and enjoy our precious life.

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.

3 . Psychologists have long believed that human beings have a fairly consistent “negativity bias（消极偏见）” that leads us to pay more attention to negative thoughts, feelings and events than to positive ones.     1    There is a positive explanation for the question. After all, we are motivated to grow after a misstep. However, we can't abandon ourselves to the negativity bias forever. How?     2    

Practice Positivity. Like your muscles, your thought patterns respond to how they are used and exercised. You don't have to erase the negativity bias from your mind.     3    For example, set calendar reminders throughout your day to convey an expression of gratitude or simply adjust your body language so you're holding yourself with strength and confidence.

    4    We're living in a time of pandemic or financial stress and deep division. Our negativity biases call our attention toward those realities. But we are well served to also see the opportunities in this moment：Maybe there's a home project we otherwise wouldn't have found time to tackle.

Ask for Positive Reminders. Get in the habit of checking in with people who are with you when goodness finds you today. Mention to them, “That is an unexpected bit of praise from the boss, isn't it?”     5    And who knows, you may help your friend, family member or coworker have a more positive day as well!

A．Try the following suggested ideas.

B．Redefine negativity as an opportunity.

C．Instead, practice your positive lifestyle.

D．Its negative influence can never be avoided.

E．Why and how does this phenomenon happen?

F．How do you handle it as you try to live with more positivity?

G．Asking others to confirm your positive insights can facilitate your positivity.

4 . 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。

Dear Bob, I’m writing to apologize for having forgotten to return The Beatles CD to you when I left Canada. I was in such hurry that I packed everything in my luggages without checking carefully. If I have paid more attention then, I wouldn't have made such stupid a mistake. Now everything must be done to solve the problem because I understand you cherish the CD enormous. I can either send it to you by express mail or alternatively compensate you in a reasonable price. If you do not mind, I may bring it back to you next time when I go to Canada. Please let me know which solution you prefer at your earliest convenience. Felt extremely guilty, I really hope you will accept my sincerely apology.

5 . A new study, published in The Journal of Experimental Psychology found that communication interactions that included voice, like a phone call or video chat, created stronger social bonds than communication through typing, like text messaging or email.

In the study, researchers used various experiments to gauge connectedness. In one, they asked 200 people to make predictions about what it would be like to reconnect with an old friend by email or by phone and then assigned people at random to do one or the other. Although people anticipated that a phone call would be more awkward, hearing someone's voice actually made the experience better. However, people who participated in the experiment reported that they did form a significantly stronger bond with their old friend on the phone versus email, and they did not feel more awkward.

In another experiment, the researchers had strangers connected by either texting, talking over video chat, or talking using only audio. They found that both forms of voice communication — whether video or audio only — made the strangers feel significantly more connected than when they communicated via text.

Sabrina Romanoff, a Harvard trained clinical psychologist based in New York City, says people tend to text or email instead of calling because of convenience, as they see it as a controlled form of communication where they can "correspond information exactly in the way they intend without unexpected additions by the other person."

Romanoff says that in reality, texting can make it hard to determine the true meaning behind a conversation. A phone call is actually more convenient when considering the net effects of the message. Each party is more present, and therefore, able to gauge the meaning behind the content without ruminating on the endless possible meanings behind words and punctuation.

1. What is the purpose of the study?

A．To encourage people to let their fingers do the talking.

B．To introduce the effects of verbal and non-verbal communications.

C．To demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of making phone calls.

D．To compare connectedness of communication through voice and typing.

2. Which way will make you feel more connected if you miss a friend far away?

A．Typing a letter.	B．Sending an email.
C．Having a video chat.	D．Texting a message.

3. What does "a controlled form of communication" refer to in Paragraph 4?

A．A way to talk about controlled topics.	B．A way to communicate without time limit.
C．A way to explain something without delay.	D．A way to express thoughts without being disturbed.

4. What advantage does making phone calls over texting?

A．Being more formal.	B．Being less awkward.
C．Being more straightforward.	D．Being less expensive

6 . One of the easiest things in the world is to become a fault-finder. However, life can be _______ when you are not busy finding fault with it.

Several years ago I _______ a letter from seventeen-year-old Kerry, who described herself as a world-class fault-finder, almost always _______ by things. People were always doing things that annoyed her, and _______ was ever good enough. She was highly self-critical and also found fault with her friends. She became a really _______ person.

Unfortunately, it took a horrible accident to change her _______. Her best friend was seriously hurt in a car crash. What made it almost _______ to deal with was that the day before the _______, Kerry had visited her friend and had spent the whole time criticizing her _______ of boyfriends, the way she was living, the way she related to her mother, and various other things she felt she needed to ________. It wasn’t until her friend was badly hurt that Kerry became ________ her habit of finding fault. Very quickly, she learned to appreciate life rather than to ________ everything so harshly(刻薄). She was able to transfer her new wisdom to other parts of her ________ as well.

Perhaps most of us aren’t as extreme at fault-finding, ________ when we’re honest, we can be sharply ________ of the world. I’m not suggesting you ________ problems, or that you pretend things are ________ than they are, but simply that you learn to allow things to be as they are — ________ most of the time, and especially when it’s not a really big ________.

Train yourself to ＂bite your tongue＂, and with a little ________, you’ll get really good at letting things go. And when you do, you’ll get back your enthusiasm and love for life.

1.

A．lonely

B．great

C．quiet

D．uneasy

2.

A．received

B．answered

C．expected

D．rejected

3.

A．threatened

B．interrupted

C．bothered

D．spoiled

4.

A．anything

B．everything

C．something

D．nothing

5.

A．caring

B．boring

C．interesting

D．surprising

6.

A．attitude

B．plan

C．measure

D．explanation

7.

A．urgent

B．unnecessary

C．certain

D．impossible

8.

A．occasion

B．event

C．accident

D．adventure

9.

A．memory

B．notice

C．evidence

D．choice

10.

A．hear

B．contribute

C．express

D．admit

11.

A．aware of

B．afraid of

C．curious about

D．confused about

12.

A．discuss

B．realize

C．judge

D．settle

13.

A．family

B．life

C．career

D．education

14.

A．so

B．or

C．but

D．for

15.

A．proud

B．sure

C．hopeful

D．critical

16.

A．face

B．create

C．solve

D．ignore

17.

A．rarer

B．better

C．stranger

D．worse

18.

A．at least

B．at last

C．by far

D．so far

19.

A．task

B．deal

C．result

D．duty

20.

A．practice

B．speech

C．rest

D．pity

8 . Eyes can speak

Much meaning can be conveyed, clearly, with our eyes, so it is often said that eyes can speak.     1    In a bus you may look at a stranger, but not for too long. And if he senses that you are staring at him, he may feel uncomfortable.

The same is true in our daily life. If you are stared at for more than necessary, you will look at yourself up and down to see if there is anything wrong with you.     2    Eyes do speak, right?

Looking too long at someone may seem to be rude and aggressive.     3    If a man stares at a woman for more than 10 seconds and refuses to look away from her, his intentions are obvious. He wishes to attract her attention and let her know that he is admiring her.

However, when two people are engaged in a conversation, the speaker will only look into the listener’s eyes from time to time to make sure that the listener does pay attention to what the former is speaking.     4    If a speaker looks at you continuously when speaking as if trying to control you, you will feel awkward. A poor liar usually exposes himself by looking too long at the victim. He wrongly believes that looking straight in the eye is a sign of honest communication.     5    

Actually, eye contact should be made based on specific relationships and situations.

A．That’s what normal eye contact is all about.

B．But things are different when it comes to staring at the opposite sex

C．Therefore, continuous eye contact is limited to lovers only.

D．On the contrary, it will give him away.

E．After all, nobody likes to be stared at for quite a long time.

F．Do you have such kind of experience?

G．If nothing goes wrong, you will feel annoyed at being stared at that way.

9 . 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.

2. What worried Claire before the ride?

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.

3. Which of the following can best describe the team?

A．Confident, calm and friendly.	B．Honest, patient and open-minded.
C．Strong-minded, brave and caring.	D．Curious, creative and experienced.

4. What did Claire think of the journey?

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.

10 . Body language is the quiet, secret and most powerful language of all! It speaks ____than words. According to specialists, our bodies send out more_____than we realize. In fact, non-verbal(非言语) communication takes up about 50% of what we really ____. And body language is particularly_____when we attempt to communicate across cultures. Indeed, what is called body language is so ____a part of us that it’s actually often unnoticed. And misunderstandings occur as a result of it._____, different societies treat the_____between people differently. Northern Europeans usually do not like having ____contact(接触)even with friends, and certainly not with ____. People from Latin American countries, ____, touch each other quite a lot. Therefore, it’s possible that in_____, it may look like a Latino is_____a Norwegian all over the room. The Latino, trying to express friendship, will keep moving_____. The Norwegian, very probably seeing this as pushiness, will keep_____— which the Latino will in return regard as ____.

Clearly, a great deal is going on when people ____. And only a part of it is in the words themselves. And when parties are from ____cultures, there’s a strong possibility of_____. But whatever the situation, the best_____is to obey the Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be_____.

1.

A．straighter

B．louder

C．harder

D．further

2.

A．sounds

B．invitations

C．feelings

D．messages

3.

A．hope

B．receive

C．discover

D．mean

4.

A．immediate

B．misleading

C．important

D．difficult

5.

A．well

B．far

C．much

D．long

6.

A．For example

B．Thus

C．However

D．In short

7.

A．trade

B．distance

C．connections

D．greetings

8.

A．eye

B．verbal

C．bodily

D．telephone

9.

A．strangers

B．relatives

C．neighbors

D．enemies

10.

A．in other words

B．on the other hand

C．in a similar way

D．by all means

11.

A．trouble

B．conversation

C．silence

D．experiment

12.

A．disturbing

B．helping

C．guiding

D．following

13.

A．closer

B．faster

C．in

D．away

14.

A．stepping forward

B．going on

C．backing away

D．coming out

15.

A．weakness

B．carelessness

C．friendliness

D．coldness

16.

A．talk

B．travel

C．laugh

D．think

17.

A．different

B．European

C．Latino

D．rich

18.

A．curiosity

B．excitement

C．misunderstanding

D．nervousness

19.

A．chance

B．time

C．result

D．advice

20.

A．noticed

B．treated

C．respected

D．pleased