1 . At some point, something will have to be done about the stuffed toys (毛绒玩具). I haven’t counted them because, truthfully, I’m not prepared to know how many there are. Lately, our neighborhood’s message boards are filled with posts about parents trying to make space, to clear out the things their kids no longer need. The tone of some of these posts can best be described as “emergency”. “Help!” they sometimes begin. “I have to get this out of my house.”
“The proliferation (激增) of children’s toys is the outcome of a long, gradual cultural change,”says Gary Cross, a professor at Pennsylvania State University. To understand how we got here — drowning (淹没于) in all those stuffed toys and bricks — it helps to look as far back as the late 19th century. “Parents were no longer passing their jobs on to the children,” Cross says. “Instead, they connect across generations through the gifting process. From the early 20th century on, goods became the things that define relationships between family members, and the way of marking success as a family.”
Then, how can parents deal with the proliferation of children’s toys at home? Naeemah Ford Goldson, a professional organizer, is also a mom of two. In her own home, Goldson likes to include her kids in the work of sorting out their toys. They know that the items they don’t need anymore will be given to people who can use them, to families who might not be as fortunate as theirs. “Doing so helps them build those habits of letting go,” she says, “so then they don’t become adults who are too dependent on material things instead of experiences, or people, and the memories we make with people.”
Her idea made sense. She told her 5-year-old they should pick some to give to kids in their community who came from another country and had to leave their toys behind. She immediately took a pink bear from the pile.
1. Why does the author present the posts in paragraph 1?| A．To show the popularity of children’s toys. |
| B．To offer suggestions about choosing children’s toys. |
| C．To praise the role of social media in buying children’s toys. |
| D．To introduce the influence too many children’s toys bring about. |
| A．Children’s demands. | B．The growth of technology. |
| C．The traditions in the 18th century. | D．The practice of gifting among family members. |
| A．Involve her kids in organizing toys. | B．Put away toys for her kids. |
| C．Buy her kids fewer toys. | D．Sell unwanted toys to neighbors. |
| A．The Rise of Toy Stores in Neighborhoods | B．The Importance of Choosing Proper Gifts |
| C．The Challenge of Managing Children’s Toys | D．The Joy of Collecting Children’s Toys |
2 . “We are living in an age for learning, when there’s so much knowledge available that one would think that this is good news for higher education, yet we’ve seen enrollment (入学) in higher education drop for six years.” said Bryan Alexander, who often writes about the future of higher education.
Alexander believes that for some colleges and universities to survive, they need to shift from their historical mission of serving one type of student (usually a teenager fresh out of high school) for a specific period of time. “We’re going to see many different ways through higher education in the future,” Alexander said, “from closer ties between secondary and postsecondary schools to new options for adults.”“The fact is that to maintain affordability, accessibility and excellence, something needs to change,” said Rafael Bras, Georgia Tech’s president. Among many impressive ideas about that, three point to the possibility of a very different future for colleges and universities.
1) College for life, rather than just four years. The college should turn itself into a place for lifelong learning that allows students to “associate rather than enroll”. The system that receives students once in their lives and turns them out with approval to become alums (校友) and come back on occasion and give money is not the right model for the future.
2) A network of advisers and coaches for a career. If education never ends, neither should the critical advising function that colleges provide to students. It’s promising that artificial intelligence and virtual tutors will help advise students about selecting courses and finding the best career options.
3) A distributed presence around the world. Colleges and universities operate campuses and require students to come to them. In the past couple of decades, online education has grown greatly, but for the most part, higher education is still about face-to-face interactions. Why not blend the two worlds?
Whether the ideas will become real is, of course, unclear, but what is clear is that colleges and universities are about to undergo a period of deep change — whether they want to or not — as the needs of students and the economy shift.
1. The underlined word “blend” can be best replaced with ________.| A．distribute | B．split | C．connect | D．combine |
| A．Enrollment in higher education drops because there’s too much knowledge available. |
| B．The colleges and universities serving one type of student for 4 years will disappear soon. |
| C．Probably people won’t have to go to college and university campuses for higher education. |
| D．Higher education has the obligation to maintain affordability, accessibility and excellence. |
| A．the driving factor of the change in higher education is the change in the needs of students and the economy |
| B．people will probably be at college all their life rather than just four years to associate with their alums |
| C．artificial intelligence and virtual tutors will work together to help students select courses and find best careers |
| D．colleges and universities are scheduled to undergo changes for a different future whether they want to or not |
| A．No More Traditional Higher Education | B．Colleges and Universities: Change or Die |
| C．The Struggle of Higher Education | D．How to Survive in Colleges and Universities |
In many urban Chinese offices, a trend (趋势) is gaining popularity among young professionals. The trend
This trend is not just about
The appeal of these fruit-bearing plants is evident on social media platforms, where thousands of these plants
4 . Whenever we see a button, we are eager to press it because we know something will happen. This is true in most cases, for example on a doorbell and on the “on / off” on the TV. But some buttons are actually fake, like the “close” button on a lift.
Many people are in the habit of pressing the “close” button because they don’t have the patience to wait for the lift doors to shut. But lifts’ “close” buttons are a complete scam, at least in the US — the doors will not close any faster no matter how hard you press.
It started in the 1990s when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in the US, making sure that all lifts stayed open long enough so that people with disabilities could enter. Only US firefighters and repairmen can use the buttons to speed up the door-closing process if they have a code or special keys.
But to normal lift riders, the buttons aren’t completely useless. According to psychologists, fake buttons can actually make you feel better by offering you a sense of control.
“Perceived (能够感知的) control is very important. It reduces stress and increase well-being,” Ellen J. Langer, a psychology professor, said, “Having a lack of control is associated with depression.”
Experts have revealed that a lot of buttons that don’t do anything exist in our lives for this same purpose. For example, many offices in the US have fake thermostats (温度调节器) because people tend to feel better when they think they can control the temperature in their workspace.
But psychologists found it interesting that even when people are aware of these little “white lies”, they still continue to push fake buttons because as long as the doors eventually close, it is considered to be worth the effort.
“That habit is here to stay,” John Kounios, a psychology professor, said, “Even though I have real doubts about the traffic light buttons, I always press them. After all, I’ve got nothing else to do while waiting. So why not press the button in the hope that this one will work.”
1. What was the author’s main purpose in writing the article?| A．To analyze the functions of fake buttons. |
| B．To describe some different kinds of fake buttons. |
| C．To explain the advantages and disadvantages of fake buttons. |
| D．To explore people’s different habits when it comes to pushing buttons. |
| A．Tool. | B．Trick. | C．Button. | D．Scan. |
| A．are fake for the convenience of disabled people |
| B．work only when people press them hard for a while |
| C．were specially designed to give people a sense of control |
| D．cannot speed up the process of closing the door in any case |
| A．should give up this habit | B．probably do so to kill time |
| C．don’t know that what they press is fake | D．consider what they do to be meaningless |
5 . Every one of us may have been hurt by others — either by their words or actions. The best way to deal with the problem is to “forgive and forget”.
“It is well established that learning to forgive others can have positive benefits for one’s physical and mental health,” Saima Noreen, a scientist at the University of St. Andrews, UK, told the Huffington Post.
Recently, Noreen and her research team have found one more reason that you should stick to this principle — forgiving somebody who has hurt you makes it easier for you to forget the unhappy memory, according to their new study.
In the study, researchers asked volunteers to read descriptions of 40 different situations that contained bad actions such as stealing, lying and cheating. Imagining being the victims (受害者) , volunteers then had to decide whether they would be able to forgive. Two weeks later, volunteers took part in a memory test. In the test, they were shown a series of words related to the situations they had read about and then were asked to recall certain ones.
The results showed that people were less likely to remember the details of the unpleasant experiences if they had found forgiveness in their hearts. In contrast, if they hadn’t forgiven the mistake, they could always remember what had happened.
However, forgiving someone who has hurt you is always easier said than done. So Noreen hopes that one day in the near future research will give rise to powerful therapeutic (有疗效的) tools that will enable people to “forgive and forget” more effectively.
1. What have Noreen and her team found recently?| A．They have found no reason to hurt other people. |
| B．A memory test is necessary to help people forgive. |
| C．An unpleasant experience can be easily forgotten. |
| D．Forgiving helps us to forget unhappy memories. |
a. Take a memory test. b. Imagine being a victim.
c. Decide whether to forgive or not. d. Read descriptions of 40 different situations.
| A．d→b→a→c | B．d→b→c→a | C．a→b→d→c | D．a→d→b→c |
| A．Remember. | B．Translate. | C．Choose. | D．Explain. |
| A．It’s impossible to forgive someone. | B．Noreen has finished her research report. |
| C．There may be some therapeutic tools soon. | D．The therapeutic tools have been invented. |
6 . If you frequent any kind of public transportation, then you’re well aware of certain types of passengers and passenger habits that are annoying. But it’s not just other passengers that get angry, there are certain things that drive the train attendant crazy.
We’ve all been there in that moment when someone boards a train trying to take several huge items with them to wherever they’re trying to go. They wind up taking up way too much space and blocking seats.
For some reason, people have a bad habit of talking very loudly to one another to a point where you can hear them from opposite sides of the train cart (车厢). This goes for playing music as well. Some people like to play music through their phone. This really bothers fellow passengers on the train.
| A．Being really loud |
| B．Arguing with others |
| C．Here are some of the most annoying things |
| D．Then who would be in charge of playing music on the train |
| E．It’s one thing if you’re having something small such as an apple |
| F．This can make things uncomfortable for everyone else on the train |
| G．Plus when other passengers complain, guess who has to take care of it |
7 . According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, we might all be braggarts (大话王) in this competitive society addicted to social networking.
Take a close look at your social-networking sites. Do you like to post photos of yourself in restaurants to show others what an exciting life you have? Or do you like to write about how happily in love you are? Or perhaps you are of the subtle type who constantly complain about jobs but really just want to impress others with your important position.
According to the results of a series of experiments conducted by Harvard University neuroscientists (神经科学家), the reward areas of our brain — the same areas that respond to “primary rewards” such as food — are activated when we talk about ourselves. We devote between 30 to 40 percent of our conversation time to doing just that. Unfortunately, Bernstein says, some people can’t tell the difference between sharing positive information that others might actually want to know and direct bragging. She suggests that bragging involves comparison, whether stated or implied.
“We are expected to be perfect all the time. The result is that more and more people are carefully managing their online images,” says Elizabeth Bernstein, a columnist with the Wall Street Journal.
But the issue is not limited to the Internet. In a fiercely competitive job market we must sell ourselves on multiple platforms and show that we are better than others. In fact, we have become so accustomed to bragging that we don’t even realize we are doing it, says Bernstein. This is harmful to our relationships and puts people off.
Bernstein talked to some experts who said that people brag for all sorts of reasons: to appear worthy of attention; to prove to ourselves we are doing fine and that people who said we would fail are wrong; or simply because we’re excited when good things happen to us.
“Feel sorry for them, because they’re doing this unconscious, destructive thing that won’t help them in the long run,” said Professor Simian Valier, a research psychologist at Washington University.
1. The underlined word “subtle” in Para.2 is closest in meaning to “________”.| A．hidden | B．apparent | C．outstanding | D．simple |
| A．They control conversation and only talk about themselves. |
| B．They know well how to share positive information. |
| C．They self-promote to stand out in their career. |
| D．They don’t pay much attention to their online image. |
| A．Braggarts make a good first impression but the effect decreases over time. |
| B．People who like bragging know what they are doing. |
| C．Braggarts always adopt comparison directly to show they are excellent. |
| D．They care much about the feelings of others when talking. |
| A．Are you a braggart? | B．Society addicted to networking |
| C．Why do we keep on bragging? | D．How to deal with a braggart? |
8 . As a general rule, all forms of activity lead to boredom when they are performed on a routine basis. As a matter of fact, we can see this principle at work in people of all
| A．parties | B．races | C．countries | D．ages |
| A．working | B．living | C．playing | D．going |
| A．confidence | B．interest | C．anxiety | D．sorrow |
| A．well-organized | B．colorfully-printed | C．newly-collected | D．half-filled |
| A．broad | B．passing | C．different | D．main |
| A．silently | B．impatiently | C．gladly | D．worriedly |
| A．promise | B．burden | C．right | D．game |
| A．graduation | B．independence | C．responsibility | D．success |
| A．children | B．students | C．adults | D．retirees |
| A．carefully | B．eagerly | C．nervously | D．bravely |
| A．required | B．obtained | C．noticed | D．discovered |
| A．need | B．learn | C．start | D．plan |
| A．only | B．well | C．even | D．soon |
| A．lost | B．chose | C．left | D．quit |
| A．pets | B．toys | C．friends | D．colleagues |
1.说明现象和理由；
2.提出建议。
注意：词数在80词左右（参考词汇：litter 乱扔垃圾 spit 吐痰）
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
10 . Volunteers are the lifeblood of nonprofit (非营利的) organizations, but COVID-19 makes it difficult for them to take part, especially for older people. As a result, nonprofit organizations are meeting the challenge of finding new, safe ways to engage with older volunteers.
“COVID-19 has been a real blow to most communities, seriously blocking volunteer participation, but our society needs the talent of these people,” said Marc Freedman, the founder of Encore.org, a nonprofit trying to bridge generational divides. “We know from decades of research that strong social connections and a reason to get up in the morning are key to our well-being as we age,” he added. “So we need to give up the idea of ‘stay safe and stay out of the way.’”
Like so much of life in COVID-19, volunteer work has largely moved online. But technology can be a barrier for many older adults — both those who offer and those who receive volunteer services. They are less likely to get and take advantage of the latest technology. Last year 59 percent of Americans age 65 and older had broadband (宽带) Internet connections, about 20 percentage points fewer than those in younger age groups.
None of that has stopped elderly volunteers like Paula Brynen, a 65-year-old Los Angeles resident. Before COVID-19, she volunteered for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS’s) Light The Night, an annual fund-raising walk at which participants carry glowing lanterns. Ms. Brynen would help out with setting up the event; nowadays, she focuses on another task. “They usually give volunteers a small list of calls to make,” she said, “but because I worked in fund-raising and have no problem ringing up, they gave me 50 names this year.”
Meanwhile, she is working as a mentor (导师) with Table Wisdom, a St. Louis-based nonprofit that matches older adults with students and young professionals. She connects each week via Zoom with a young environmental engineer in Colombia. “We talk about politics and movie recommendations — I’ve learned a lot about Colombia, and she’s learned about things like Los Angeles’s culture.”
1. What does the underlined part “these people” in paragraph 2 refer to?| A．Elderly patients. | B．Older volunteers. |
| C．Young professionals. | D．Nonprofit organizers. |
| A．Having something to do daily benefits older adults. |
| B．Knowing how to stay connected helps you succeed. |
| C．It is good for the elderly to get up early in the morning. |
| D．More efforts should be taken to improve seniors’ safety. |
| A．To express approval for developing technology. |
| B．To discuss how COVID-19 influenced volunteer work. |
| C．To show many older people are falling behind technologically. |
| D．To explain the development of broadband Internet connections. |
| A．By taking fund-raising walks. | B．By making a lot of phone calls. |
| C．By giving free speeches via Zoom. | D．By instructing students and young adults. |
