1 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Douban is a Chinese social networking platform     1     users are mostly young people. Recently, a Douban discussion group named “985 Loser Introduction Plan“ became popular, causing a heated discussion. Most of the group members are students or graduates from top universities in China, but they consider themselves as losers     2     various reasons. By     3    (write) down their own life stories, they share their sufferings and aim to improve their situation by learning from each other’s experiences.

2 . 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.

4 . One of the most difficult questions to answer is how much a job is worth. We naturally expect that a doctor’s salary will be higher than a bus conductor’s wages. But the question becomes much more difficult to answer when we compare a miner with an engineer, or an unskilled man working on an oil-rig（钻探平台）with a teacher in a secondary school. What the doctor, the engineer and the teacher have in common is that they have devoted several years to studying in order to obtain the necessary qualifications for their professions. We feel instinctively that these skills and these years should be rewarded. At the same time we recognize that the work of the miner and the oil-rig laborer is both hard and dangerous, and that they must be highly paid for the risks they take.

Another aspect we must take into consideration is how socially useful a man’s work is. Most people would agree that looking after the sick or teaching children is more important than, say, selling second-hand cars. Yet it is almost certain that the used-car salesman earns more than the nurse and the schoolteacher.

Indeed, this whole question of just rewards can be burned on its head. You can argue that a man who does a job which brings him personal satisfaction is already receiving part of his reward in the form of a so-called “psychic（精神的）wage”, and that it is the man with the boring, repetitive job who needs more money to make up for the soul-destroying repetitiveness of his work. It is significant that the jobs like nursing and teaching continue to be poorly paid, while others, such as those in the world of sport or entertainment, carry financial rewards out of all proportion to their social worth.

Although the amount of money that people earn is largely determined by market forces, this should not prevent us from seeking some way to decide what the right pay is for the job. A starting point would be to try to decide the ratio which ought to exist between the highest and the lowest paid. The picture is made more complicated by two factors: firstly by the welfare benefits which every citizen receives, and secondly by the taxation system which is often used as an instrument of social justice by taxing high incomes at a very high rate indeed. Most countries now regard a ratio of 7:1 as socially acceptable. If it is less, the highly-qualified people carrying heavy responsibilities will become disappointed, and might even end up by leaving for another country. If it is more, the difference between rich and poor will be so great that it will lead to social unrest.

1. Why do people naturally expect that doctors should be well-paid?

A．Their work requires greater intelligence.

B．They are under constant pressure at work.

C．They work harder than most other people.

D．They have studied for years to get qualified.

2. In Paragraph 2 and 3, the author indicates that ________.

A．the talented should do more important work

B．unskilled jobs have less social responsibility

C．those with more socially useful jobs earn less

D．people want to pay more for important services

3. Which of the following statements would the author agree?

A．It’s difficult to define the social value of a job.

B．The market will decide what the right pay is for a job.

C．People should find a proper ratio between high and low pay.

D．Those receiving high salary should carry heavy responsibilities.

7 . 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。

We are drowning in a sea of free information. The Internet is in our businesses, homes and our bedrooms. An army of designers and data engineers spend their working life     1     (figure) out ways to make us stay plugged in longer. Our desires are repackaged by giant tech     2     (company) and then sold back to us under the cover of free content, but it isn’t free. We are paying for it with invisible currencies, such as our time and privacy,     3     people are only now beginning to understand.

9 . 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)
______________________________________________________________________________

10 . 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