2 . “I think therefore I am”— mind over matter. What you expect from yourself and the world makes a big impact on the results of your efforts.

From a neuroscience perspective, the brain will believe anything you tell it, right and wrong. Research has shown that this phenomenon can have huge benefits when we approach a significant or difficult task. “We do know there’s the mind-body connection, which isn’t kind of mysterious or magical, and that this is in itself changing our physiology,” said David Robson, a science writer. “Think that you could catch up in a race or that your public speaking anxiety could help you perform better.”

Expectations, even negative ones, are meant to help our brains navigate (理解) a complicated world by simplifying our predictions of the wide range of outcomes to any situation. Those negative expectations can help us anticipate and avoid danger, but they aren’t always up to date with the context that surrounds us. And when you’re in the face of a challenge, inaccurate information can create obstacles of its own. Pessimistic thoughts really just put you in a position where you’re more vulnerable to actually experiencing that unpleasant or negative outcome.

Setting more positive expectations and hopefully acquiring the rewards starts with how you talk to yourself. When baseball players step up to the plate, they tell themselves they will knock it out of the park. Being aware of your thoughts and how you talk to yourself about a challenge can make a big impact.

We tend to see ourselves and our obstacles in two ways. Either our abilities are fixed or can grow, and our obstacles are a threat or a challenge. Shifting focus to believe that we can see difficulties as a challenge to be met rather than a threat to be avoided has been shown to result in more success. If you interpret that situation as a challenge, your physiological response will empower and equip you to be more creative and effective.

Having realistically optimistic expectations does better equip each of us to take up a challenge with our best resources, experts said.

1. What does the third paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The outcome of pessimistic thoughts.

B．The connection between the mind and body.

C．The advantages of positive expectations.

D．The pros and cons of negative expectations.

2. What will make baseball players more positive when games begin?

A．Thinking out loud.

B．Stepping up to the plate.

C．Challenging themselves.

D．Improving their abilities.

3. According to the text, what can promote greater success?

A．Avoiding threats and troubles.

B．Removing our obstacles in the way.

C．Shifting our focus to something else.

D．Regarding difficulties as challenges.

4. Where is the text most likely from?

A．A history book.

B．A fantasy novel.

C．A science & wellness paper.

D．A sports & health report.

6 . 阅读下面短文，根据题目要求用英语回答问题。

Will My Donation Actually Help?

When we donate money to one of the countless charities, we give it to an unknown person over the phone or through the Internet. We have absolutely no idea about where that money goes to, what it buys or who it helps. At least that is the case for most of the charities. Perhaps you should start to take a greater interest in where your donations go, because many of them may lead to dead ends.

You really should ask the question: will my donation actually help the people? Sometimes it makes matter worse. For example, many charities help African people set up water pumps (水泵) to deliver clean water to their communities. Money has been invested over the past 20 years to set up a total of 60,000 pumps across sub-Saharan Africa. However, today 40% of those have failed to work at some point. Because the community does not have the resources or know how to fix the problem, they have been left there, like expensive but useless decorations.

For underdeveloped nations, sending endless containers full of material goods from charity will hurt the local economy. For instance, Hand-Me-Down charities and others will ship used clothes and other goods to Africa. Kenya alone receives more than 100.000 tons of clothes from Global Charities each year. The problem is that these mountains of imported clothes have completely destroyed local textile (纺织品) industries, which have previously supported local economies. In the 1980s, 500,000 people were employed by Kenya’s textile industry. Today the number falls to less than 20.000.

Basically, to whom and how much you give is your choice. But it is important to provide highly specialized services instead of material goods. In general, the more your donation matches the need of the receivers, the better it will be for the long-term growth of those you want to help.

1. Why do the water pumps across sub-Saharan Africa become useless?
________________
2. What advice does the author give in the last paragraph?
________________
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
The economy in Kenya becomes better because of the imported clothes from Global Charities.
________________
4. In your daily life, what will you do to make your donation really helpful? (In about 40 words)
________________

7 . Many airlines overbook their flights — meaning they sell more tickets than there are seats on the plane. But why do they do it, and what happens to passengers who arrive at the airport only to learn that their seats are already taken?

Like any business, airlines want to make money. So, they try to fill as many seats on each plane as possible. After all, empty seats are a financial loss on airlines.

Airlines look at data from past flights to predict the number of expected “no-shows”, passengers who canceled their flight, don’t show up or arrive late because of the connecting flights. For example, if the data shows that eight people normally don’t show up for flights from New York to Los Angeles, the airline might sell eight extra tickets.

However, the airlines sometimes get their numbers wrong. If there are too many people and not enough seats, the airline may ask passengers to volunteer to take a later flight for compensation (赔偿) — which might include money, travel vouchers (优惠券), free meals and hotel rooms. Some airlines have offered as much as $10,000 to get people to volunteer. However, if there are no volunteers, airlines may have to make passengers give up their seats. This is called “bumping”.

Although there’s no exact science, it’s often the lowest fares that get bumped to the next flight first. This means those flying business class or first class are highly unlikely to be bumped. Airlines have also admitted to bumping people based on the time of check — in arriving last minute is not recommended. Certain groups are less likely to be denied boarding due to overbooking, such as frequent flyers, the elderly, families with young children and people with disabilities.

In the US, if a bumped passenger is able to arrive at their destination less than an hour late using another flight, no compensation is required by law — although airlines may offer some. If they arrive over two hours late, the law requires that they be given 400% of the one-way ticket price, up to a total of $1,550.

1. How do airlines determine the number of extra tickets?

A．By analyzing the passengers’ loyalty.

B．By checking the number of unsold seats.

C．By checking the passengers’ information.

D．By analyzing the previous number of no-shows.

2. What can we infer from the text?

A．Every airline sells more tickets than the seats on the plane.

B．Airlines always bump people based on the time of check-in.

C．The volunteers who take a later flight may get $10,000 as compensation.

D．The airlines sell eight extra tickets for flights from New York to Los Angeles.

3. Who would most probably be denied boarding in case of overbooking?

A．A couple with a baby.	B．A man flying business class.
C．An old man in the wheelchair.	D．A young lady arriving last minute.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．What Is the Best Time to Check-in?

B．What if You Are Late for Your Flight?

C．Why Do Airlines Overbook Their Flights?

D．How Could You Get Compensation from Airlines?

8 . Simone Biles was expected to lead the United States women’s gymnastics team to an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, Japan. But not long into the competition on July 27, Biles withdrew (退出) from the team event.

Biles told reporters that stress had taken its toll. She was not injured, she said. But “once I came out here, I felt that the mental element is not there. So I just need to let my teammates do it and focus on myself.”

Biles isn’t the first athlete to speak out about the pressure of competitive sports. In May, tennis star Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open. She was concerned about her mental health. Swimmer Michael Phelps has long spoken about his struggles. “We’re human beings,” he says. “It is okay not to be okay.”

Athletes are usually taught to focus on winning. They work through pain and injury. But now, sports stars are pushing back against that thinking. They say winning should not take priority (优先) over their health. “It’s okay sometimes to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself,” Biles said. “It shows how strong of a competitor and person that you really are.”

Jill Emanuele, a director at the Child Mind Institute, says star athletes are setting a positive example. “The message now is that being tough means paying attention to yourself and making sure you’re okay,” she says. In sports, mind and body must work together, or that could lead to injuries. It’s why Biles did not continue in the team event.

Emanuele advises young athletes to “talk to people when you have trouble.” That’s what Biles did. And with the support of her team, she was able to return to competition. She finished the Olympic Games with a bronze medal in the women’s balance-beam final.

1. Why did Biles withdraw from the team competition?

A．She was not qualified.	B．She suffered great pressure.
C．She was seriously injured.	D．She lost interest in the competition.

2. What might athletes be generally taught to believe?

A．Being tough is a must.	B．Winning comes before one’s health.
C．Sitting out big competitions is okay.	D．Focusing on oneself is the most important.

3. According to Jill Emanuele, which can be a positive example of athletes?

A．One who always focuses on winning.	B．One winning many big competitions.
C．One who is mentally and physically fit.	D．One never getting injured in competitions.

4. What does Jill Emanuele advise young athletes to do?

A．Turn to others for help.	B．Try to avoid the trouble.
C．Practice even harder.	D．Have more confidence.

9 . According to scientists, biscuits can give you cancer. But don’t worry, research shows that sunshine can cure cancer. Hang on. Ignore previous findings that suggest it might actually cause cancer. But whatever you do, don’t shave, because that’s been shown to increase the risk of cancer, along with other everyday household products like hairspray baby powder and sausages. It’s a wonder that any of us are still alive. According to scientists, the world we live in is a death trap.

So many of my patients come to me saying how worried they are about some health scare they’ve heard about in the news. Though the claims seem to be backed up by scientific evidence, even a rough look brings up contradictions and inconsistencies. It’s easy to blame the journalists for twisting science to chase headlines. But I’ve felt that is extremely unfair. The chilling fact is that these health stories come from scientists, not journalists. In fact, a study in the British Medical Journal found that many of the exaggerations that later made it into health reports originated from a press release, Over a third of the press releases, for example, made exaggerated claims of the impact of the research for humans when in fact the study was carried out on animals. A third also made exaggerated claims of causation when in fact the study found an association only. Particularly worrying was that many of the exaggerated claims appear to have been written or at least approved by scientists themselves.

But, you could argue, aren’t journalists to blame for not going back to the original papers and checking out the claims themselves?

The fact is that journalists, like the public at large, have tended to believe what the scientists have told us. Why would we ever assume they’d lie? The very nature of their job is the search for the correct answer. The problem though is that they have funding to worry about and these days, an article hitting the front page headline making bold claims about your research is as important for securing future funding as getting it into top medical journals is. It’s also worth mentioning that every research facility or university now has a press department to do the job.

I think that this is a good reason to make understanding and interpreting a scientific paper a fundamental part of science in school. That way we encourage more people to examine the claims themselves and, hopefully, improve the public’s understanding of basic scientific principles.

Now, recent research has shown that work can increase your risk of premature death so with this in mind, I'm signing off.

1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?

A．To lead in the topic of the passage.	B．To state the argument of the passage.
C．To give vivid examples of health problems.	D．To draw readers attention to common health problems.

2. According to British Medical Journal, which is NOT a source of exaggerated health claims?

A．Scientists write or approve the exaggerated claims

B．Press releases apply the results of animal studies to humans.

C．Press releases switch claims of association to that of causation.

D．Journalists bend and misinterpret scientific studies to chase headlines

3. What solution does the writer give?

A．Scientists should be given more access to research funding

B．Scientific articles with exaggerated headlines shouldn’t be published

C．People should learn more about science to examine the health claims

D．Research facilities and universities should cancel their press departments.

4. What is the writer’s tone?

A．Playful.

B．Instructive.

C．Worried.

D．Optimistic.

10 . 随着智能手机的普及，我们不难发现身边很多人沉迷于智能手机，成为“低头族”，而这一定程度上危害了他们的身体健康和线下社交生活。China Daily正在据此开展题为“Be a wise smartphone user”的讨论，请你写一篇短文投稿。
内容要点如下：
1. 你对此现象的看法；
2. 帮助人们做出改变的建议。
注意：1. 词数100左右；2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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