1 . Why Boundaries at Work Are Essential

What is a boundary, you ask? A boundary is a limit defining you in relation to someone or something.     1     If you have informed someone that this is your office space, your desk, or your chair, you have attempted to set physical boundaries.

Letting co-workers know you are not comfortable shaking their hands or hugging them at a holiday party, especially with Covid at this time, is another example of setting a physical boundary. It is often easier to understand a physical boundary. Emotional or mental boundaries may be subtler(更微妙的).     2    

Emotional boundaries are related to our feelings and how something or someone’s behavior affects us. For example, if a boss treats you disrespectfully by yelling at you or a colleague frequently interrupts you in meetings, you are likely to feel hurt, embarrassed, and perhaps angry. Understandably, by having a courageous conversation with both your boss and co-worker about their behavior, the impact it has on you, and your expectations regarding future behavior, you are setting healthy emotional boundaries for yourself at work.

Sometimes we set a boundary that is a combination of both a physical and emotional one.     3     One example of this is being repeatedly asked to work late during the week/weekends or while on vacation. Another example is being required to see too many clients or patients to the point we feel tired at the end of the day and exhausted by Friday. Often, the above workplace demands lead to increased stress and a high potential for burnout over time.

Mental boundaries are related to our beliefs, values, cultural norms, ethics(道德), and standards. For example, you value a workplace culture that treats employees and clients with respect and dignity and acts ethically. After six months, you realize that company leaders are repeatedly behaving in ways not consistent(始终如一的)with this.     4     Over time, this may lead to significant stress and physical symptoms within.

    5     . Boundaries serve many functions. They help protect us, clarify our responsibility, preserve our physical and emotional energy, and live our values and standards. Learning the skill of boundary setting helps empower us to prioritize our values and well-being and better manage our stress. Identifying, setting, and maintaining boundaries are skills valuable skills that, unfortunately, we are often not taught in school or the workplace.

A．Why are boundaries important?

B．However, they are equally, if not more, important.

C．Therefore, we need to tell the difference between them.

D．Setting a boundary in the above example may be quite helpful.

E．Boundaries can be physical, mental, emotional, tangible, or intangible.

F．Such boundaries often involve being asked to do more than we feel capable of for an extended period of time.

G．Your values and ethical standards don’t match with your company’s, which likely will lead to internal discomfort, even conflict.

2 . 阅读表达

Before ending up on a supermarket shelf, an avocado (牛油果) has produced 1.3 kilograms of carbon into the atmosphere. Its production alone consumes 60 gallons of water. Despite this, the fruit will often be thrown away as household waste.

Household food waste is the result of mismanagement. Much of the waste is avoidable and the food may have been eaten had it been better managed. To reduce household food waste, a growing number of food retailers determine to remove date labelling, such as the “use-by” or “best-before” date, from some fresh food items.

Past studies have confirmed the importance of date labelling. Almost 60% of Western European consumers surveyed said they “always” check date labels while purchasing. But date labelling has long come under criticism because failure to truly understand date labelling often leads to unreasonable decision making. Indeed, consumers commonly don’t accept edible (可食用的), but date-expired (过期的) food.

The removal of date labelling is therefore a promising start. Without date labels, information that may affect consumers’ understanding of what is edible is removed. Instead, consumers are encouraged to sense-check fresh food items.

In the case of an avocado, the advice given to consumers is that when ripe, it should have a “pleasant and slightly sweet aroma (气味)”, while the skin should be “dark green or brown”. Information is also provided on how an avocado should look, taste, and feel when “overripe”. It is hoped that a better informed consumer will be less likely to blindly throw away food due to an expiration date.

1. What do food retailers decide to do to reduce household food waste?
______________________________________________________________________________
2. Why has date labelling been criticized?
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
•If consumers can be informed of the food’s nutritional value, they will be less likely to blindly throw away food due to date labels.
______________________________________________________________________________
4. Do you support the removal of date labelling? Why or why not? (In about 40 words)
______________________________________________________________________________

3 . Last fall, I happened to overhear a student telling the others he had decided not to sign up for an introductory philosophy (哲学) course. The demands of his major, be said seriously, meant he needed to take “practical” courses, and “enlightenment” would simply have to wait. For now, employability was the most important.

The students’ conversation fits into a larger alarming word about the role of the humanities in higher education. In a time of dizzying technological achievement and of rapid scientific innovation, sceptics of the humanities may question the usefulness of studying Aristotle, the Italian Renaissance (文艺复兴) or Chinese fiction.

Actually, I regret not interrupting that student to argue for taking that introductory philosophy course. I would have started by reminding him that, for much of America’s history, college graduates were not considered truly educated unless they had mastered philosophy, literature, political theory and history. The key role of higher education was to invite students into the conversations about matters like what it means to be alive and the definition of justice. Fostering (鼓励) engagement with these subjects is still an essential part of the university’s function in society.

I would have also mentioned to the student that he was misinformed about the job market. It is true that many employers are looking for graduates with specialized technical skills, but they also look for other capabilities. As the world is transformed by artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation, the unique human qualities of creativity, imagination and moral reasoning will be the ultimate coin of the realm. All these skills are developed in humanities courses.

Further, I would have argued that while a degree anchored in the sciences is an important precondition for many jobs, it is not the only route. Look no further than the founders of companies such as LinkedIn, Slack and Flickr, who are among the many tech businesspersons with degrees in the humanities, and who credit that training for their success.

Far from the widely held belief that humanities majors have a hard time getting jobs, recent studies show that those with humanities degrees are successful in the workplace, experiencing low rates of unemployment and reporting high levels of job satisfaction. The ratio between average median (中位数) incomes for humanities degree holders and those with business, engineering, and health and medical sciences degrees has been shown to narrow over the course of a career.

The case for the humanities can also be understood in less transactional (事务性的) terms and more as a foundational preparation for a life well lived. A humanities education plays a vital role in encouraging citizens to lead an examined life. It fosters critical thinking, self-reflection, empathy and tolerance, the usefulness of which only becomes more apparent as one navigates life’s challenges.

By all means, students should take courses they think practical and follow their interests, but if they also make a point of studying the literature of the Renaissance, or researching into modern poetry, or even taking introductory philosophy, we will all benefit.

1. What do the students’ conversation show?

A．Students feel employment difficult.

B．Students think philosophy less important.

C．Students find scientific innovation amazing.

D．Students consider university courses unsatisfying.

2. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Equally applied.	B．Highly valued.
C．Strictly assessed.	D．Greatly improved.

3. The author may agree that humanities___________.

A．provide great insights into life	B．prepare students for graduation
C．discover students’ artistic ability	D．raise awareness of social celebrity

4 . 阅读下面短文，根据题目要求回答问题。

You are watching your favorite TV show when a commercial break starts. First you see an ad for candy. Then there is one for fast food. Your stomach growls. Suddenly, all you can think about is how much you need a snack.

If that sounds familiar, you are not alone. Researchers from McMaster University in Canada studied the effects of junk food ad. The researchers examined the effects of advertising junk food on more than 6000kids through TV commercials and other types of media. They found that kids made unhealthy food and drink choicesas quickly as 30 minutes after seeing the ads.

“There is too much unhealthy food advertising out there,” Says Behnam Sadeghirad. He’s one of the researchers who led the study. “This is dangerous for younger children.”

Food and drink ads are everywhere from TV to the Internet. Companies want to make sure you know about their products. They spend nearly 1.8 billion a year on food ads aimed at kids according to a report.

The Nielsen Company tracked the number of food ads that kids saw in 2015. It found that kids watched nearly 12 food ads on TV each day. Most of these ads weren’t for health y foods. In fact, on average. kids saw only one ad per week for fruits and vegetables. Instead, most of the ads were for fast food, candy and sugary drinks.

Jennifer Harris, a professor at the University of Connecticut, says this is a big part of the problem. “Unhealthy foods are not things we should be encouraging kids to eat more often”. Harris says. “But unfortunately those are the products being advertised to them the most”.

Health experts say it’s OK to treat yourself to a cookie once in a while. But what can you do to keep from having an unhealthy snack every time you see an ad for junk food? Harris says it’s important to learn to spot the techniques companies use in their ads, tell their kids what is going on and help kids think about whether these products are good for them.

1. What did researchers from MaMaster University find?
____________________________________________________________________
2. What do the findings of the Nielsen Company suggest?
____________________________________________________________________
3. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
To avoid negative impacts of advertisements for unhealthy food, parents should keep their kids from watching these kinds of advertisements.
____________________________________________________________________
4. Please briefly describe what you can do to reduce the negative impact of advertising on your life.
____________________________________________________________________

7 . Never go into a supermarket hungry! This is a good piece of advice. If you go shopping for food before lunchtime, you’ll probably buy more than you plan to. Unfortunately, however, just this advice isn’t enough for consumers these days. Modern shoppers need an education in how and how not to buy things at the store. First, you check the weekly newspaper ads. Find out the items that are on sale and decide if you really need these things. In other words, don’t buy anything just because it’s cheaper than usual! “New and Improved!” or “All Natural” on the front of a package influence you. Instead, read the list of ingredients (contents) on the back. Third, compare prices: that is, you should examine the prices of both different brands and different sizes of the same brand.

Another suggestion for consumers is to buy ordinary items instead of famous brands. Ordinary items in supermarkets come in plain packages. These products are cheaper because producers don’t spend much money on packing or advertising. The quality however, is usually as good as the quality of well-known name brands. In the same way, in buying clothes, you can often find high quality and low prices in brands that are not famous. Shopping in discount clothing stores can help you save a lot of money. Although these stores aren’t very attractive, and they usually do not have individual dressing rooms, not only are the prices low, but you can often find the same famous brands that you find in high-priced department stores.

Wise consumers read magazine ads and watch TV commercials, but they do this with one advantage: knowledge of the psychology behind the ads. In other words, well-informed consumers watch for information and check for misinformation. They ask themselves questions: Is the advertiser hiding something in small print at the bottom of the page? Is there any real information in the commercial, or is the advertiser simply showing an attractive image? With the answers to these questions, consumers can make a wise choice.

1. All the following statements are true about the phrase “ordinary items“ in Paragraph 2 except________.

A．ordinary items never say “New and Improved” or “All Natural”

B．ordinary products are usually cheaper than famous brands

C．producers spend less money on packaging of ordinary items

D．the quality of ordinary items is usually as good as that of famous brands

2. What does the writer think about ads?

A．They are believable.

B．They are attractive.

C．They are full of misinformation.

D．They are helpful to consumers.

3. One of the author’s suggestions to consumers is________.

A．to make use of ads

B．not to buy items with words like “New and Improved” or “All Natural”

C．to buy high quality items such as famous brands after lunch

D．to buy any ordinary items instead of famous brands

8 . If you’ve visited a museum, you’ve seen it. Maybe you’ve even done it-taken a picture of yourself with a piece of art. Perhaps it’s because you love the painting or sculpture, or maybe it was just a famous piece of art and you wanted to share with the world that you’d seen it in person But the majority of museums ban photography at the museum.

The reasons for banning photography differ. Some museums have pieces lent to them that aren’t allowed to be photographed according to the owner’s wishes, like most of the exhibits at The Tate in London. Others are concerned about what camera flashes will do to the art; bright lights can damage certain paints. Some want to preserve a certain atmosphere. Sir John Soane’s Museum, a small museum in London, states that it bans photography to “maintain the unique,magical atmosphere insides”.

For other museums the “no photography” rule is based on observed behavior that seems to fly against the idea of what the museum is for: “Personally what I’ve noticed is that people spend more time taking pictures than looking at pieces of art,” saic Benoit Parayre, the director of communications at the Center Pompidou in Paris. “They take a picture, and don’t even stop in front of the paintings.”

For most museums, it’s purely practical. “People taking selfies are more concerned with getting their shot than paying attention to where their bodies are some nearly backing into objects,” complained Heidi Rosenau, the Frick’s communication director. What’s worse, in a busy museum, people taking photos with the art causes traffic-flow issues. Sure, some people only take a quick shot,but we all have a friend or two who spend minutes getting the “perfect” photo now just imagine them in a museum blocking people from seeing famous works of art that they’ve spent time and money to come and see.

A selfie can be fun and harmless, but it can also be rude and get in the way of other people’s experiences.

1. What do we learn from the first paragraph?

A．Visitors can copy a famous piece of art.

B．Taking pictures is not allowed in most museums.

C．Most visitors carry cameras in the museum.

D．Most exhibits of art are borrowed from others.

2. Sir John Soane’s Museum bans photography with the purpose of ________.

A．ensuring safety	B．preserving art works
C．keeping order	D．maintaining an atmosphere

3. Which of the following is the writer’s viewpoint?

A．A harmless selfie should be allowed in all museums.

B．Some museums can be open to a selfie.

C．A selfie should be banned in museums.

D．A selfie can be dangerous in museums.

10 . 阅读下面短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个适当的单词，在给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。

More than 1billion people aged from 12to 35are at the risk of losing their hearing from     1     (listen) to loud music on their audio devices. According to WHO,     2     is considered unsafe that you hear a sound that is above 85decibels for eight hours or 100decibels for 15minutes.     3     (normal), users of personal audio devices choose to set the volume between 75-105. Shelly Chadha of the WHO suggested that all smartphones should be fitted with a measurement system,     4     would tell you how much sound you’re listening to, and when you go over the limit.