1 . Keeping fit often means sharing a busy pathway with cyclists,runners and walkers,but imagine facing the task of doing it all without being able to see or hear.It is a challenge many disabled athletes face,unless someone agrees to be their eyes and ears.
Newly formed group Achilles Brisbane pairs visually and audibly impaired (视觉和听觉受损的) athletes with people who would like to guide them.
Jane Britt,president of Achilles Brisbane,who is—vision and hearing—impaired,said,“When we go out,it’s much less frightening to have someone beside us that has full hearing to listen for us and tell us what’s there.”
Ms.Cullen and Ms.Britt meet up most Saturday mornings to take part in the five-kilometer park run.Their partnership is built on trust,but Ms.Britt said that it took time to develop.
Ms.Britt said it took an unexpected storm for her to trust Ms.Cullen completely.“There was violent rain,my glasses were broken and we were walking together.I suddenly had to tell her I couldn’t see anything,and I was going to have to completely trust her.From that time I knew it was going to work because she was so good about dealing with the special situation we both found ourselves in,” she said.
Isabella Allen and her seeing eye dog Tatum are two new additions to the Achilles Brisbane.Ms.Allen kept active by rowing,running and cycling but found it difficult to keep going as her vision became worse.After nearly giving up completely,she worked up the courage to ask Achilles Brisbane to find someone to share a boat with her.
Ms.Allen said the fear of not finding anyone to row with almost stopped her from reaching out to Achilles Brisbane.“But,they found people and matched me to them,” she said.“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
1. How does Jane Britt feel about going out alone?A.Relaxed. | B.Excited. | C.Worried. | D.Bored. |
A.She developed a strong sense of teamwork. |
B.She led Ms.Cullen forward on the road. |
C.She began to rely on Ms.Cullen as her guide. |
D.She fell down on the ground. |
A.Asking Achilles Brisbane for help. |
B.Working in Achilles Brisbane. |
C.Exercising non-stop. |
D.Meeting Tatum. |
A.The danger of walking on a busy road. |
B.The difficulty the disabled athletes face. |
C.The exercise people do to keep fit. |
D.The necessity of building roads for the blind. |
2 . Leia was fresh out of college when she began working as a member of a business-development team at a company. Though her skills had earned her the job, she was the youngest person in the team. “Everybody else was pretty much twice my age,” she says. “I exhibited” too much ambition’ in the eyes of my superiors. I heard about comments being made behind my back. There were even a couple of times when my superiors referred to my age right in front of me, saying I was too young: “What does a 23-year-old know about these things?”
Leia tried to change her appearance at work. “I changed the way I dressed. I tried to dress older, more ‘ladylike’. I changed my mannerisms and tried to act older,” she says. “It worked, to an extent.” The comments about her age and inexperience lessened, but Leia says she still felt like her growth potential was limited. She left the company soon after.
What Leia experienced was ageism, traditionally seen as something only older people face. For instance, older workers might be judged based on assumptions that they won’t fit into a progressive office or learn technology quickly. A US study showed that nearly two-thirds of workers aged 45 and older had seen or experienced age discrimination. But younger workers face age discrimination, too. In fact, new research shows it may actually be the youngest team members who are bearing the brunt of workplace ageism right now, potentially impacting their careers.
Leia says removing ageism entirely will ultimately require a fundamental change to corporate culture, which has long tied seniority to skill. “We prize years of experience a little too much, and I don’t think years of experience and skill are necessarily correlated,” she says. “Steve Jobs was 21 when he founded Apple. We don’t know how much younger people actually have to contribute. Hopefully, more employers are realizing it.”
1. What did Leia’s co-workers mainly talk about behind her back?A.Her appearance. | B.Her younger age. |
C.Her way of behaving. | D.Her family background. |
A.She disliked dressing more ladylike. |
B.She received many negative comments. |
C.She was under much pressure from her work. |
D.She needed more room for her career growth. |
A.They may be quick in learning technology. |
B.They have trouble adapting to a progressive office. |
C.They experience more ageism than younger workers. |
D.A small part of them were faced with age discrimination. |
A.To share information about Apple Company. |
B.To tell us Steve Jobs’ major contributions. |
C.To show that age and experience are not connected. |
D.To prove that experience matters to young people. |
3 . To a chef, the sounds of lip smacking, slurping and swallowing are the highest form of flattery (恭维). But to someone with a certain type of misophonia, these same sounds can be suffering. Brain scans are now helping scientists start to understand why.
People with misophonia experience strong discomfort, annoyance or disgust when they hear particulatriggers (诱因) . Researchers previously thought this reaction might be caused by the brain overactively processing certain sounds. Now, however, a new study published in Journal of Neuroscience has linked some forms of misophonia to heightened “mirroring” behavior in the brain: those affected feel negative and bitte while their brains act as if they were mimicking (模仿) the triggering mouth movements.
The research team, led by Neweastle University neuroscientist Sukhbinder Kumar, analyzed brain activity in people with and without misophonia when they were at rest and while they listened to sounds. These included misophonia triggers (such as chewing) , generally unpleasant sounds (like a crying baby) , and neutral sounds. The brain’s auditory cortex (听觉皮层), which. processes sound, reacted similarly in subjects with and without misophonia. But in both the resting state and listening trials, people with misophonia showed stronger connections between the auditory cortex and brain regions that control movements of the face, mouth and throat, while the controlled group didn’t. Kumar found this connection became most active in participants with misophonia when they heard triggers specific to the condition.
Some mirroring is typical in most humans when witnessing others’ actions; the researchers do not yet know why an excessive mirroring response might cause such a negative reaction, and hope to address that in future research. “Possibilities include a sense of loss of contrel, invasion of personal space, or interference with current goals and actions.” the study authors write.
Fatima Husain, an Illinois University professor of speech and hearing science, says potential misophonia cures could build on the new findings by counseling patients about handling unconscious motor responses to triggering sounds — not just coping with the sounds themselves. If this works, she adds, one should expect to see reduced connected activity between the auditory and motor cortices.
1. How might misophonia sufferers respond to sounds of eating loud?A.They sink into awful feelings. | B.They feel a strong sense of hunger. |
C.They can’t help making the sounds. | D.They are more likely to flatter the chefs. |
A.They suffered less at the resting state. | B.They had noticeable brain damage. |
C.They became active in mirroring response. | D.They lost control of their entire bodies. |
A.How lonely I am to stay by myself! | B.Can’t they share their goals with me? |
C.How come I can’t control my mind! | D.Following her way is the best thing I can do! |
A.Improving speech and hearing science. | B.Developing a treatment for misophonia. |
C.Drawing people’s attention to misophonia. | D.Promoting human auditory function researcb. |
4 . The idea of low material desire, low consumption and refusing to work, marry and have children, concluded as a “lying down” lifestyle, recently struck a chord with many young Chinese who are eager to take pause to breathe in this fast-paced and highly-competitive society.
Many millennials (千禧一代) and generation Zs complained to the Global Times that burdens, including work stress, family disputes and financial strains, have pushed them “against the wall”. They said they hate the “involution(内卷),” joking that they would rather give up some of what they have than get trapped in an endless competition against peers.
“Instead of always following the ‘virtues’ of struggle, endure and sacrifice to bear the stresses, they prefer a temporary lying down as catharsis (宣泄) and adjustment,” said a scholar. “It is no wonder that some young people, under the growing pressures from child-raising to paying the mortgage (按揭) today, would try to live in a simple way and leave the worries behind.”
Interestingly, the majority of millennials and Gen Zs reached by the Global Times, who claim to be big fans of the lying down philosophy, acknowledged that they only accept a temporary lying down as a short rest. It is true that with the great improvement of living conditions, some Chinese youth have partially lost the spirit of hardship and are not willing to bear too much hard work. But in fact, lying down is not entirely comfortable. Young people who lie down always feel guilty about their constant loss of morale (士气) far beyond their reach.
“Young people on campus have both aspirations and confusion about their future, but most of us have rejected setting ourselves up in chains to waste opportunities and challenges,” a postgraduate student told the Global Times. “It’s no use running away. I have to ‘stand up’ and face the reality sooner or later.”
1. What does the underlined phrase in paragraph 1 mean?A.Warned. | B.Punished. | C.Amused. | D.Touched. |
A.Improvements in living conditions. |
B.Growing pressure from family and social life. |
C.Increasing material possessions from families. |
D.Temporary adjustment to failure in competitions. |
A.Understanding. | B.Intolerant. | C.Supportive. | D.Unclear. |
A.They never really drop their responsibilities. |
B.They really enjoy the “lying down” lifestyle. |
C.They find their dreams far beyond their reach. |
D.They would rather escape than take challenges. |
5 . Parenting styles have evolved over the years in response to the rapid social changes. Whether it is tapping technology or applying the best parenting practices, parents nowadays generally invest more time in finding out how best to raise their child.
Modern parents have access to the internet and social media for ideal parenting advice and tips. There are also numerous parenting groups for different age groups on social media that parents can join. A parent can post questions from how to manage the constant cries of an infant to how to talk to a moody teenager, and chances are, the parent will be flooded instantly with advice and relevant articles. The availability of resources has helped modern parents to be more involved and supportive of their children’s development, academically, emotionally and socially. Modern parents are also keener to find out about effective parenting methods to raise disciplined and confident children.
Meanwhile, one of modern parenting styles, helicopter parenting, arises. When parents become over-involved, over-concerned and over-controlling, they start helping children with what they are capable of on their own, for example, selecting activities and friends for them. Such a parenting style can restrict the children’s ability to handle responsibilities independently. Children might be ill-equipped with life skills such as operating a stove or monitoring their schoolwork. Overprotecting children from failures may also be prevented from developing resilience (韧性) and acquiring skills like problem-solving.
On the other hand, parents in the past tended to supervise (监管) less. Children were given more control over how they managed their schoolwork and the friends they chose to play with. They were often expected to shoulder the responsibilities of caring for younger siblings and managing household chores. Living in the preinternet era, parents were less informed about different parenting approaches and personalities.
There is no one right way to raise a child and there is no need to doubt about the best parenting style. Each child is unique and should be raised differently by parents who are present, but not hovering (盘旋);who are supportive but not controlling; and who protect but not spoil.
1. What does the author explain by mentioning “an infant” and “a moody teenager” in paragraph 2?A.Devotion to kids. |
B.Easy access to guidance. |
C.Effective parenting. |
D.Tricky parenting problems. |
A.Its benefits. | B.Its influence. |
C.Its characteristics. | D.Its type. |
A.They had strengths and weaknesses in parenting. |
B.They were wiser than modern parents in1 parenting. |
C.They were to blame for child development prospect. |
D.They contributed to the children’s well-rounded abilities. |
A.To recommend how to parent wisely. |
B.To appeal to learn from modern parents. |
C.To inform how parenting has changed. |
D.To introduce two parenting strategies. |
6 . Be it sugar or social media, the response in our brain is the same: It produces a “feel-good” chemical called dopamine. It first brings about pleasure, but it doesn’t last very long. It is then followed by pain so that we have to search for the pleasurable things again.
“This cycle of pleasure and pain made sense in the time of early humans when we had to constantly search for our basic needs-food, water, shelter,” says Dr. Anna Lembke, a Stanford Medical School researcher. “But our brains weren’t adjusted to put out the ‘fire of dopamine’ caused by pleasurable things that are so easily available in modern life.”
In addition, when we’re repeatedly exposed to pleasure-producing things, we’re not able to take joy in the same rewards. Instead, we need stronger and stronger stimulus (刺激) just to feel good. Otherwise, the cycle will lead us to anxiety, depression and many other problems.
“This is a universal problem—not one limited to those struggling with the disease of addiction. If we want to stay mentally healthy, we must rethink how to break the cycle in a dopamine-overloaded world,” says Lembke.
Her suggestions for the addicts?
Take a 30-day break from anything that we rely on for pleasure. This doesn’t mean going cold turkey forever. But this first month is key to breaking the pleasure-pain cycle and it’s a lot easier to cut out an addictive behavior entirely at first. Then re-introduce the pleasurable things little by little, like just a few bites of ice cream at a time or just one hour online a night.
Another strategy is to create physical distance between us and our addiction. That could mean just removing the addictive thing from our personal space. For someone who’s addicted to video games, that could mean a separate laptop for work and one for play.
“In a time of abundance, we have to strike a pleasure-pain balance, which means intentionally avoiding pleasure and seeking the kind of purposeful pain that keeps us healthy, such as exercise,” Lembke says. “By doing so, we will reset reward pathways and eventually be a lot happier. It’s not easy, but it’s well worth doing in the long term.”
1. What can we learn about dopamine from the text?A.It has always been harmful to humans. |
B.It gives us less joy for the same rewards. |
C.It can be caused by anything available. |
D.It can lead to a lasting good feeling. |
A.Abandoning. | B.Waiting. | C.Cooking. | D.Repeating. |
A.Avoid pleasure in life. |
B.Set a strict limit on pleasurable things. |
C.Change reward pathways. |
D.Expose ourselves to repeated rewards. |
A.Ways to Live With Dopamine in Peace |
B.Tips on Getting Rid of Social Media Addiction |
C.Strategies for Making Most of the Modern Life |
D.The Need to Strike a Pleasure-pain Balance |
7 . Although we’re often told that procrastinating (拖延) in college is harmful and that leaving our assignments to the last minute can lead us to feel more stressed, I like to wait before starting any assignment, since I tend to overthink and want to make it perfect. When I procrastinate, it’s not out of laziness, but rather, a desire to be efficient.
In an op-ed, Adam Grant, a professor of management and psychology, explored the connection between performance and procrastination habits, and cited an experiment conducted by one of his former students. In the study, procrastinators’ ideas were found to be 28% more creative than the ideas of those who didn’t procrastinate. As it turns out, procrastination might help generate creative ideas — which may explain why some students perform well at the last minute.
While procrastination might work well for some students, it may lead to increased levels of anxiety for others. One college student, Amanda, says, “If I procrastinate or struggle with assignments, it affects my mental health by making me feel trapped and anxious.” Not only can procrastination cause anxiety for students, but trying to finish an assignment in a hurry can also negatively impact their grades — and lead them to make small, careless mistakes — which can lead to even more anxiety.
It’s important to point out that there’s a difference between casual procrastination and chronic (长期的) procrastination. Chronic procrastination, distress over academics, or lack of motivation can often lead to more serious mental health outcomes such as anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. If you struggle with managing schoolwork to the point where it affects your grades and interpersonal relationships over a long time, you might have to visit your school counselor or the academic resource center.
Everyone has different styles of working and managing their time, and when it comes to procrastinating in college, it’s always good to reflect on whether it’s helping or hurting. Figuring this part out can take a while, so make a note of how you’re completing your assignments and start writing down how you feel. Prioritize self-care whether you start your assignment the week before its due date or the day before.
1. How does the author bring up the topic of the text?A.By citing a fact. | B.By offering a piece of news. |
C.By describing her experiences. | D.By showing research findings. |
A.Procrastinators are good time planners. |
B.Procrastinators usually work efficiently. |
C.Procrastination encourages creative thinking. |
D.Procrastination affects people’s mental health. |
A.To seek support from professionals. |
B.To talk about the problems with friends. |
C.To reflect on their way of managing time. |
D.To break their habit of delaying doing things. |
A.Favorable. | B.Contradictory. | C.Opposed. | D.Objective |
8 . Dancing with your grandma for 15 minutes a week promotes positive feelings and improves her state of mind, a study says. Doctors from Israel are urging younger family members to have a regular visit to their grandmas and have a dance with their grandmas.
And they found a 15 minute boogie (布吉舞) once a week lifted the spirits of elderly family members and helped strengthen the family bond. In fact, it is called Dance Movement Therapy (DMT). DMT across the generations, complete with eye contact, was found to promote positive feelings and improve mood for the elderly.
The grandparents reported a bright state of mind, happy memories and uplifted spirits. Dancing has also previously been connected with improved muscle strength, balance and endurance (耐力). For the grandchildren in the study, the weekly boogie changed how they view ageing and allowed them to come to accept the eventual death of their elderly relative.
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, assessed how dance affected the well-being of 16 dance movement therapists (治疗师)and their grandmothers. Dance movement therapy was paid attention due to the fact it is easily accessible and does not cost more to practice. The researchers were eager to examine a low-cost method to treat issues commonly faced by an ageing population-such as limited mobility and depression. Grandchildren were instructed to make eye contact and encourage playfulness and touch. They were also told to mirror their grandmothers’ movements and give them time and space to rest when needed.
The sessions were recorded and then analysed while diaries and interviews recorded the opinions and feelings of the participants. As well as the benefits to the health of the senior, the experiment also changed the idea of the younger family members.
1. What should the young people do when dancing with their grandmas?A.Follow the grandmas’ eyes. |
B.Look at the grandmas’ eyes. |
C.Move the bodies as long as possible. |
D.Talk with their grandmas in gentle voice. |
A.The young should dance every week. |
B.The senior were happy about being old. |
C.The old need parctise the special dance. |
D.The young were once unwilling to accept the final leaving. |
A.Cheap. | B.Relaxing. | C.Common. | D.Influential. |
A.What does DMT Mean? |
B.Dancing: A Good Way to Stop Being Senior. |
C.Why Don’t You Dance l5 Minutes Every Week? |
D.Dancing with Grandparents is Good for Health and Family Ties. |
9 . “A library card was the first thing that I had ever owned here,” says Razmyar, who arrived in Finland as a refugee (难民). Unable to speak the language, and trying to make sense of the new city, she was surprised to be given a library card that would let her read books for free. “I still have that library card in my wallet today in honor of the privilege(特殊待遇)presented to a refugee by a foreign land,” she says.
Today, Razmyar is a key official of Finland, and plans to build a new central library called Oodi. She is not alone in her love for libraries. The country’s 5.5 million people borrow about 68 million books a year.
While libraries worldwide are facing budget(预算)cuts, a decline in users and closing down, Finland is bucking the trend. The UK spends just £14.40 per head on libraries. But Finland spends £50.50 per head to satisfy citizens’ needs. While more than 478 libraries have closed in the UK since 2010, Helsinki, a city in Finland, is spending €98 million creating a huge new one.
Why are Finland’s city libraries growing? 84% of the country’s population is urban, and libraries are vital places for socializing. Besides, while many libraries worldwide provide Internet access and other services, libraries here have expanded to lending e-publications, sports equipment, and other things of occasional use.
And Oodi will offer more since people need places to meet, work, and develop their digital skills. It has been designed to give citizens a free space to actively do what they want to do. Its design is certainly exciting. However, the most impressive thing is that the project is such a costly one that it will cost the citizens a huge sum of money, but it has not been controversial(有争议的). “They’re excited about it across the board,” says architect director Harris. “It will be important to daily life here in Helsinki.”
Oodi is more than a monument to citizens’ pride. As part of Finland’s celebration of a century of independence, the library is not merely a place to store books. “I think Finland could not have given a better gift to the people. It symbolizes the significance of learning and education, which have been fundamental reasons for Finland’s development and success,” says Razmyar.
1. Why has Razmyar kept the library card with her for so long?A.To show her loyalty to her motherland. |
B.To remind her of the importance of libraries. |
C.To remind her to help more refugees from abroad. |
D.To show her appreciation for Finland’s kindness. |
A.Explaining. |
B.Considering. |
C.Going against. |
D.Setting aside. |
A.Its success in earning Finnish citizens’ support. |
B.Its unusual architecture designed by Harris. |
C.Its important role in people’s future life. |
D.Its huge construction costs. |
A.Finland should pick up better gifts for people. |
B.Finland tries hard to promote its public education. |
C.Libraries play an important role in Finland’s development. |
D.Libraries make Finland a much more independent country. |
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