Happy Graduation, Seniors! Congratulations! What’s next? Below is some sociologically-inspired, out-of-the-box advice on work, love, family, friendship, and the meaning of life. For new grads from the two of us!
1. Don’t Worry About Making Your Dreams Come True
College graduates are often told: “follow your passion,” do “what you love,” what you were “meant to do,” or “make your dreams come true.” Two-thirds think they’re going find a job that allows them to change the world, half within five years. Yikes.
This sets young people up to fail. The truth is that most of us will not be employed in a job that is both our lifelong passion and a world-changer; that’s just not the way our global economy is. So it’s ok to set your sights just a tad below occupational ecstasy. Just find a job that you like. Use that job to help you have a full life with lots of good things and pleasure and helping others and stuff. A great life is pretty good, even if it’s not perfect.
2. Make Friends
Americans emphasize finding Mr. or Ms. Right and getting married. We think this will bring us happiness. In fact, however, both psychological well-being and health are more strongly related to friendship. If you have good friends, you’ll be less likely to get the common cold, less likely to die from cancer, recover better from the loss of a spouse, and keep your mental acuity as you age. You’ll also be able to face life’s challenges, be less likely to feed depressed, and be happier in old age.
Having happy friends increases your chance of being happy as much as an extra $145,500 a year does. So, make friends!
3. Don’t Worry about Being Single
Single people, especially women, are stigmatized in our society: we’re all familiar with the image of a sad, lonely woman eating ice cream with her cats in her pajamas on Saturday night. But about 45% of U.S. adults aren’t married and around 1 in 7 lives alone.
This might be you. Research shows that young people’s expectations about their marital status (e.g., the desire to be married by 30 and have kids by 32) have little or no relationship to what actually happens to people. So, go with the flow.
And, if you’re single, you’re in good company. Single people spend more time with friends, volunteer more, and are more involved in their communities than married people. Never-married and divorced women are happier, on average, than married women. So, don’t buy into the myth of the miserable singleton.
4. Don’t Take Your Ideas about Gender and Marriage Too Seriously
If you do get married, be both principled and flexible. Relationship satisfaction, financial security, and happy kids are more strongly related to the ability to adapt in the face of life’s challenges than any particular way of organizing families. The most functional families are ones that can bend. So partnering with someone who thinks that one partner should support their families and the other should take responsibility for the house and children is a recipe for disaster. So is being equally rigid about non-traditional divisions of labor. It’s okay to have ideas about how to organize your
family – and, for the love of god, please talk about both your ideals and fallback positions on this – but your best bet for happiness is to be flexible.
5. Think Hard About Whether to Buy a House
Our current image of the American Dream revolves around homeownership, and buying a home is often considered as a stage on the path to full-fledge adulthood. But the ideal of universal home ownership was born in the 1950s. It’s a rather new idea.
With such a short history, it’s funny that people often insist that buying a house is a fool-proof investment and the best way to secure retirement. In fact, buying a house may not be the best choice for you. The mortgage may be less than rent, but there are also taxes, insurance, and the increasingly common Home Owners Association (HOA) fees. You may someday sell the house for more than you bought it but, if you paid interest on a mortgage, you also paid far more than the sale price. You have freedom from a landlord, but may discover your HOA is just as controlling, or worse. And then there’s the headache: renting makes you avoid the stress of being responsible for repairs. It also offers a freedom of movement that you might cherish.
So, think carefully about whether buying or renting is a better fit for your finances, lifestyle, and future goals. This New York Times rent vs. buy calculator is a good start.
| 1. Don’t Worry About |
◆College grads are reminded to follow their passion. ◆The ◆Just find a great job that can make your life full, even if it’s not perfect. |
| 2. Make Friends. |
◆Americans put a lot of emphasis on getting married. ◆Both psychological well-being and health are more strongly related to ◆With good company, you will keep away from illness and have the |
| 3. Don’t Worry about Being a Bachelor. |
◆Single women adults ◆If single, be actively |
| 4. Don’t Take Your Ideas about Gender and Marriage Too Seriously. |
◆The most functional families are ones that can bend, that is to say , to be principled and more |
| 5. Think Hard About Whether to Buy a House. |
◆Buying a home is often considered as a stage on the path to full-fledge ◆In fact, buying a house may not be the best choice for you to invest and to secure retirement. ◆Renting |
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。
注意：请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。每个空格只填1个单词。
For more than twenty years scientists have been seeking to understand the mystery of the''sixth sense"of direction．By trying out ideas and solving problems one by one，they are now getting closer to one answer．
One funny idea is that animals might have a built-in compass(指南针)．
Our earth itself is a big magnet(磁体)．So a little magnetic needle that swings freely linesitself with the big earth magnet to point north and south．When people discovere
d that idea about athousand years ago and invented the compass，it allowed sailors to navigate (航海)on oceanvoyages, even under cloudy skies.
Actuallly the idea of the living compass came just from observing animals in nature．
Many birds migrate twice a year between their summer homes and winter homes．Some of them fly for thousands of kilometers and mostly at night．Experiments have shown that some birds can recognize star patterns．But they can keep on course even under cloudy skies．How can they do that?
A common bird that does not migrate but is great at finding its way home is the homing pigeon．Not all pigeons can find their way home．Those that can are very good at it，and they have been widely studied．
One interesting experiment was to attach little magnets to the birds'heads to block theirmagnetic sense-just as a loud radio can keep you from hearing a call to dinner．On sunny days, that did not fool the pigeons．Evidently they can use the sun to tell which way they are going．But on cloudy days，the pigeons with magnets could not find their way．It was as if the magnets had blocked their magnetic sense．
Similar experiments with the same kind of results were done with honeybees．These insects also seem to have a special sense ot direction．
In spite of the experiments，the idea of an animal compass seemed pretty extraordinary．Howwould an animal get the magnetic stuff for a compass.
An answer came from an unexpected source．A scientist was studying bacteria that live in themud of ponds and marshes．He found accidentally little rod-like bacteria that all swam together inone direction-north．
Further study showed that each little bacterium had a chain of dense particles inside，whichproved magnetic．The bacteria had made themselves into little magnets that could line up with theearth's magnet．
The big news was that a living thing，even a simple bacterium，can make magnetite．That ledto a search to see whether animals might have it.. By using a special instrument called magnetometer，scientists were able to find magnetite in bees and birds，and even in fish．In eachanimal，except for the bee．the magnetic stuff was always in or closer to the brain．
Thus．the idea of a built-in animal compass began to seem reasonable．
The Magnetic Sense  - The Living Compass |
|
| Passage outline |
Supporting details |
| The existence of the earth magnet and the invention of the navigating compass |
◇Our earth is a big magnet and a little freely1magnetic needle lines itself with the earth magnet to point north and south. ◇2on  the idea above, the navigating compass was invented. |
| The possibility of birds' built-in compasses |
◇ One piece of evidence is the3of many birds between their summer homes and winter homes. ◇ Birds can recognize star patterns on clear nights and keep on course4under cloudy skies |
| The5on pigeons' and bees' built-in compasses |
◇Little magnets were tied to the pigeons' heads to6their magnetic sense. ◇The pigeons' magnetic sense seemed to be affected on7days. ◇Similar things with the same results were done with bees. |
| The8of the magnetic stuff for the animal compass |
◇Little rod-like bacteria were found by chance to swim together in the direction of9. ◇Some animals had a chain of dense magnetic particles in or close to the10inside their bodies. |
阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填一个单词。
When difficult people exptures themeelves orally, they generally want at least two things:they've been heard and they've been understood.As a good communicator should be a good listener, five steps are advocated toward good listening.
The first step is cooperating(合作).How does a difficult person know that you're listening and understanding?In fact, it's through the way you look and sound while he is talking. You may help him to fully express his thoughts and feelings. You do this by nodding your head in agreement, making cartain sounds of understandiey.
When the peron begings to repeat what's been said, is's a two:turning that you repeat some words he is using, sending a clear signal the you've listening carefully and that you think what he is saying is important.
Having heard what he has to say, the next sterp is clarifying.At this point, you start to gather information about whoat is being communicated. Ask same open-ended questions, which will allow you to figure out what intention he is hoping to satisfy.
The fourth step is to summarize(概括)what you've heard.This allows you to make sure that both you and the difficult peson the same page. When you do this, two things happen First, if you've twisses shinething, he can fill in the (细节).Second you've shown that you're making an effort to understand cometely. This increases possibility of gaining cooperation from him.
Having listened carefully, you've now arrived at the point of confirmning with the person that he feels satisfied that this thoughts have been fully voiced. Ask if he feels understood.
Then emough sincere listening, questioning, and remembering are brought together, understanding is usually achieved and a difficult person hecomes less difficult and more cooperative.
| Topic |
1to understand |
| Reason |
Difficult people hope they have bem heard and2when they express theselves. |
| 3 | ◆4in agreement and make some sounds of understanding while a difficult person is speaking. ◆Repeat some5that you have heard. ◆Collect information about the person's expressions and find his6. ◆Give a7of what the person has said. ◆Confirm that the person gains8from speaking his thoughts. |
| Dlult |
A difficult person will be9to cooperate with if understanding is achieved. |
| Comment |
You may unlock the doors to difficult people's10after you listen and understand |
Directions: Complete the following passage by filling in each blank with one wordthat best fits the context.
Parents are busy people. If they are working,they are usually not at home1their children return from school.Sometimes it is necessary for a parent to write2after-school note for their children. They sometimes put the note on the kitchen table, the refrigerator,3another place where their children are sure to find it. A note is often a4way to "talk" with a child than using the telephone. For one thing, parents have time to think about5they want to say before they write.6another, the note lists all the information in one place. It is easy to read again and again People often forget all the details that7hear in a telephone call. Finally, cell phones can be turned8or telephone calls not answered. For these reasons, after-school notes are very popular with parents.
阅读下面短文，按照句子结构的语法性和上下文连贯的要求，在空格处填入一个适当的词或受用括号中词语的正确形式填空，并将答案填在答题卡标号为1～10的相应位置上。
A young man,while traveling through a desert，csme across a spring of clear water1water was sweet.He filled his leather container so that he could bring some back to an elder2had been his teacher .After a four-day journey, the young man3.(present) the water to the old man. His teacher took a deep drink, smiled4(warm), and thanked his student very much for the sweet water.The young man went home5a happy heart.
After the student left, the teacher let6student taste the water. He spit it out,7(say) it was awful. Apparently, it was no longer fresh because of the old leather container. He asked his teacher," Sir, the water was awful. Why did you pretend to like8?"
The teacher replied," You tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of kindness and love. Nothing could be9(sweet)."
We understand this lesson best10we receive gifts of love from children. Whether it is a cheap pipe on a diamond necklace, the proper response is appreciation. We love the idea within the gift rather than the thing.
Section B
Directions: Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage and required words limit.
Scientists have determined it's not advisable to hurry marriage. But what’s the best age to wed?
When Avril Lavigne announced she was splitting from her husband, comments from her friends suggested that she was only 21 when she tied the knot and later she said that she realized she'd been too young to make such a life-altering decision. Could fellow young celebrity divorcées(离婚者) Reese Witherspoon, Kate Hudson, and Britney Spears have also hit the same age-related issue?
The Magic Number
There are practical reasons for the mid-20s dividing line, and most of them boil down to two biggies: education and money.
It turns out that the more years of higher education a woman has under her belt on her wedding day, the lower the chances that she'll get divorced ... and by 25, you're more likely to have earned a degree or two. Educated women tend to be more confident about who they are and less willing to settle for a man who doesn't meet their standards.
Odds(可能性) are that by 25 you're also supporting yourself, so there's less incentive（刺激; 鼓励）for you to rush into marriage because you're seeking financial security from him. But the marriage-related benefits of working and having money of your own go beyond feeling secure. Learning to budget your cash carefully when you're single will help you avoid financial problems—one of the main causes of couple fights—for the rest of your life.
Knowing the Real You
At 25, you've had time for some crucial life experiences, including a relationship or two that may have improved your Mr. Right radar. You've probably dated enough to have a better idea of what you don't want in a man, which makes it easier to know what you can live with and can't live without.
Perhaps the most important aspect of waiting is that you'll know what your goals and values really are. While you don't want to marry someone just like you, marriage is a lot easier if you two share a similar outlook on life.
Twenty-four and already married to the man of your dreams? Don't worry: Many young marriages survive. But given the choice, you might consider putting off the big day until your mid-20s or later.
81. What main factors influence the mid-20s dividing line? (No more than 3 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
82. According to the author, why does a couple probably fight？(No more than 4 words) _______________________________________________________________________________
83. How do you know what you don’t want in a man? (No more than 5 words)
____________________________________________________________________________
84. What suggestion does the passage mainly give? (No more than 10 words)
_______________________________________________________________________________
Section C