The way people hold to the belief that a fun - filled, pain free life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever attaining real happiness. If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness. But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness involve some pain.
As a result, many people avoid the very attempts that are the source of true happiness. They fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment （预担的义务）, self - improvement.
Ask a bachelor（单身汉） why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. If he is honest he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. For commitment is in fact quite painful. The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement. Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
Couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three - day vacation. I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children. But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations. It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.According to the author, a bachelor resists marriage chiefly because ________ .
| A．he is reluctant to take on family responsibilities |
| B．he believes that life will be more cheerful if he remains single |
| C．he finds more fun in dating than in marriage |
| D．he fears it will put an end to all his fun adventure and excitement |
Raising children, in the author’s opinion is ________ .
| A．a moral duty | B．a thankless job |
| C．a rewarding task | D．a source of inevitable pain |
From the last paragraph, we learn that envy sometimes stems from ________ .
| A．hatred | B．misunderstanding | C．prejudice | D．ignorance |
To understand what true happiness is one must ________ .
| A．have as much fun as possible during one’s lifetime |
| B．make every effort to liberate oneself from pain |
| C．put up with pain under all circumstances |
| D．be able to distinguish happiness from fun |
What is the author trying to tell us?
| A．Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain． |
| B．One must know how to attain happiness. |
| C．It is important to make commitments. |
| D．It is pain that leads to happiness. |
If you ever get the impression that your dog can"tell"whether you look content or annoyed, you may be onto something. Dogs may indeed be able to distinguish between happy and angry human faces, according to a new study.
Researcherstrained a group of 11 dogs to distinguish between images(图像) of the same person making either a happy or an angry face. During the training stage, each dog was shown only the upper half or the lower half of the person's face. The researchers then tested the dogs' ability to distinguish between human facial expressions by showing them the other half of the person's face or images totally different from the ones used in training .The researchers found that the dogs were able to pick the angry or happy face by touching a picture of it with their noses more often than one would expectby randomchance.
The study showed the animalshad figured out how to apply what they learned about human faces during training to new faces in the testing stage." Wecan rule out that the dogs simply distinguish between the pictures based on a simple cue, such as the sight of teeth,"said study author Corsin Muller." Instead,our results suggest that the successful dogs realized that a smiling mouth means the same thingas smiling eyes,and the same rule applies to an angry mouth having the same meaning as angry eyes."
"With our study, we think we can now confidently conclude that at least some dogs can distinguish human facial expressions,"Muller told Live Science.
At this point,it is not clear why dogs seem to be equipped with the ability to recognize
different facial expressions in humans."To us, the most likely explanation appears to be that the basis lies in their living with humans, which gives them a lot of exposure to human facial expressions," and this exposurehas provided them with many chances to learn to distinguish between them,Muller said.
8.The new study focused on whether dogs can .
| A． |
distinguish shapes |
B． |
make sense of human faces |
| C． |
feel happy or angry |
D． |
communicate with each other |
9. What can we learn about the study from paragraph 2?
| A． |
Researchers tested the dogs in random order. |
B． |
Diverse methods were adopted during training. |
| C． |
Pictures used in the two stages were different |
D． |
The dogs were photographed before the lest. |
10.What is the last paragraph mainly about?
| A． |
A suggestion for future studies. |
B． |
A possible reason for the study findings. |
C． |
A major limitation of thestudy |
D． |
An explanation of the research method. |
We live in a town with three beaches.There are two parks less than 10 minutes'walk from
home where neighborhoodchildren gather to play.However,what my children want to do after school is pick up a screen-any screen- and stare at it for hours.They are not alone.Today'schildren spend an averageof four and a half hours a day looking at screens,split between watching television and using the Internet.
In the past few years, an increasing number of people and organisations have begun coming up with plans to counter this trend.A couple of years ago film-maker David Bond realised that his children,then aged five and three,were attached to screens to the point where he was able to say"chocolate" into his three-year-old son's ear without getting a response. He realised that something needed to change, and, being a London media type, appointed himself"marketing director fro Nature".He documented his journey as he set about treating nature as a brand to
be marketed to young people.The result was Project Wild T hing,a film which chartsthe birth
of the World Network,a group of organisations with the common goal of getting children out into nature.
"Just five more minutes outdoors can make a difference,"David Bond says."There is a lot of really interesting evidence which seems to be suggesting that if children are inspired up to the age of seven,then being outdoors will be a habit for life."His own children have got into the habit of playing outside now: "We just send them out into the garden and tell them not to come back in for a while."
Summer is upon us. There is an amazing world out there, and it needs our children as much as they need it.Let us get them out and let them play.
What is the problem with the author's children?
| A． |
They often annoy the neighbours. |
B． |
They are tired of doing their homework. |
| C． |
They have no friends to play with |
D． |
They stay in front of screens for too long. |
5. How did David Bond advocate his idea?
| A． |
By making a documentary film. |
B． |
By organizing outdoor activities. |
| C． |
By advertising in London media. |
D． |
By creating a network of friends. |
6.Which of the following can replace the underlined word "charts" in paragraph 2?
| A． |
records |
B． |
predicts |
C． |
delays |
D． |
confirms |
7.What can be a suitable title for thetext?
| A． |
Let Children Have Fun |
B． |
Young Children Need More Free Time |
| C． |
Market Nature to Children |
D． |
David Bond:A Role Model for Children |
Leslie Nielsen's childhood was a difficult one,but he had one particular shining star in his life - his uncle,who was a well-known actor.The admiration and respect his uncle earned inspired Nielsen to make a career (职业) inacting .Even though he often felt he would be discovered to be a no-talent , he movedforward ,gaining a scholarship to the Neighborhood Playhouse and making his first television appearance a few years later in 1948. However, becoming a full- time, successful actor would still be an uphill battle for another eight years until he landed a number of film roles that finally got him noticed.
But even then, what he had wasn't quite what he wanted. Nielsen always felt he should be doing comedy but his good looks and distinguishedvoice kept him busy in dramatic roles.It wasn't until 1980-32 years into his career-that he landed the role it would seem he was made
for in Airplane!That movie led him into the second half of his career whereh is comedic presence
alone could make a movie a financial success even when movie reviewers would not rate it highly.
Did Nielsenthen feel content in his career?Yes and no.He was thrilled to be doing the comedy
that he always felt he should do,but even during his last few years,he always had a sense of curiosity,wondering what new role or challenge might be just around the corner.He never stopped working, never retired.
Leslie Nielsen's devotion to acting is wonderfully inspiring.He built a hugely successful careerwith little more than plain old hard work and determination.He showed us that even a single desire, never given up on, can make for a remarkable life.
Why did Nielsen want to be an actor?
| A． |
He enjoyed watching movies. |
B． |
He was eager to earn money. |
| C． |
He wanted to be likehis uncle. |
D． |
He felt he was good at acting. |
2. What do we know about Nielsen in the second half of his career?
| A． |
He directed some high quality movies. |
B． |
He avoided taking on new challenges. |
C． |
He focused on playing dramatic roles. |
D． |
He became a successful comedy actor. |
3. What does Nielsen's career story tell us?
| A． |
Art is long,life is short. |
B． |
He who laughs last laughs longest. |
C． |
It's never too late to learn. |
D． |
Where there's a will there's a way. |
During an interview for one of my books,my interviewer said something I still think aboutoften.Annoyed by the level of distraction(干扰)in his open office, he said,"That's why I have a membership at the coworking space across the street-so I can focus. "His comment struckme as strange. After all, coworking spaces also typically use an openofficelayout (布局). But I recently came across a study that shows why his approach works.
The researchers examined various levels of noise on participants as they completed tests of creative thinking .They were randomly divided into four groups and exposed to various noise levels in the background, from total silence to 50 decibels(分贝),70 decibels, and 85 decibels. The differences between most of the groups were statistically insignificant; however,the participants in the 70 decibels group-those exposed to a level of noise similar to background chatter in a coffee shop-significantly outperformed the other groups. Since the effects were small, this may suggest that our creative thinking does not differ that much in response to total silence and 85 decibels of background noise.
But since the results at 70 decibels were significant,the study also suggests that the right level of background noise-not too loud and not total silence-may actually improve one's creative thinking ability.The right level of background noise may interrupt our normal patterns of thinking just enough to allow our imaginations to wander, without making it impossible to focus.This kind of"distracted focus"appears to be the best state for working on creative tasks.
So why do so many of us hate our open offices?The problem may be that, in our offices, we can't stop ourselvesfrom getting drawn into others' conversations while we're trying to focus. Indeed, the researchers found that face-to-face interactions and conversations affect the creative process,and yet a coworking space or a coffee shop provides a certain level of noise while also providing freedom from interruptions.
12.Why does the interviewer prefer a coworking space?
| A． |
It helps him concentrate. |
| B． |
It blocks out background noise. |
| C． |
It has a pleasant atmosphere. |
| D． |
It encourages face-to-face interactions. |
13.Which level of background noise may promote creative thinking ability?
| A． |
Total silence. |
| B． |
50 decibels. |
| C． |
70 decibels. |
| D． |
85 decibels. |
14.What makes an open office unwelcome to many people?
| A． |
Personal privacy unprotected. |
| B． |
Limited working space. |
| C． |
Restrictions on group discussion. |
| D． |
Constant interruptions. |
15.What can we infer about the author from the text?
| A． |
He's a news reporter. |
B． |
He's an office manager. |
| C． |
He's a professional designer. |
D． |
He's a published writer. |
You've heard that plastic is polluting the oceans-between4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes enter ocean ecosystems every year. But does one plastic straw or cup really make a difference? Artist Benjamin Von Wong wants you to know that it does. He builds massive sculptures out of plastic garbage, foreing viewers to re-examine their relationship to single-use plastic products.
At the beginning of the year, the artist built a piece called"Strawpocalypse,"a pair of 10-foot-tall plastic waves, frozen mid-crash. Made of 168,000 plastic straws collected from several volunteer beach cleanups, the sculpture made its first appearance at the Estella Place shopping center in Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam.
Just 9% of global plastic waste is recycled. Plastic straws are by no means the biggest source (来源)of plastic pollution, but they've recently come under fire because most people don't need them to drink with and, because of their small size and weight,they cannot be recycled.Every straw that's part of Von Wong's artwork likely came from a drink that someone used for only a few minutes. Once the drink is gone,the straw will take centuries to disappear.
In a piece from 2018,Von Wong wanted to illustrate (说明) a specific statistic:Every 60 seconds, a truckload's worth of plastic enters the ocean. For this work, titled "Truckload of Plastic, " Von Wong and a group of volunteers collected more than 10,000 pieces of plastic ,which were then tied together to look like they'd been dumped(倾倒)from a truck all at once.
Von Wong hopes that his work will also help pressure big companies to reduce their plastic footprint.
8.What are Von Wong's artworks in tended for?
| A． |
Beautifying the city he lives in. |
| B． |
Introducing eco-friendly products. |
| C． |
Drawing public attention to plastic waste. |
| D． |
Reducing garbage on the beach. |
9.Why does the author discuss plastic straws in paragraph 3?
| A． |
To show the difficulty of their recycling. |
| B． |
To explain why they are useful. |
| C． |
To voice his views on modern art. |
| D． |
To find a substitute for them. |
10.What effect would "Truckload of Plastic"have on viewers?
| A． |
Calming. |
| B． |
Disturbing |
| C． |
Refreshing |
| D． |
Challenging. |
11.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A． |
Artists'Opinions on Plastic Safety |
| B． |
MediaInterest in Contemporary Art |
| C． |
Responsibility Demanded of Big Companies |
| D． |
Ocean Plastics Transformed into Sculptures |