Every day, millions of shoppers hit the stores in full force—both online and on foot—searching for the perfect gift. Aside from purchasing holiday gifts, most people regularly buy presents for other occasions throughout the year, including weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and baby showers. This frequent experience of gift-giving can causeambivalentfeelings in gift-givers. Many enjoy the opportunity to buy presents because gift-giving offers a powerful means to build stronger bonds with one’s closest persons. At the same time, many fear the thought of buying gifts; they worry that their purchases will disappoint rather than delight the intended receivers.
What is surprising is that gift-givers have considerable experience acting as both gift-givers and gift-recipients, but nevertheless tend to overspend each time they set out to purchase a meaningful gift. In the present research, we propose a unique psychological explanation for this overspending problem — i.e., that gift-givers equate how much they spend with how much receivers will appreciate the gift (the more expensive the gift, the stronger a gift-recipient’s feelings of appreciation). Although a link between gift price and feelings of appreciation might seem intuitive (凭直觉得到的) to gift-givers, such an assumption may be unfounded. Indeed, we propose that gift-receivers will seldom tend to base their feelings of appreciation on the significance weight of a gift than givers assume.
Why do gift-givers assume that gift price is closely linked to gift-recipients’ feelings of appreciation? Perhaps givers believe that bigger (i.e., more expensive) gifts convey stronger signals of thoughtfulness and consideration. According to Camerer (1988) and others, gift-giving represents a symbolic ritual(礼节), by which gift-givers attempt to signal their positive attitudes toward the intended receiver and their willingness to invest resources in a future relationship. In this sense, gift-givers may be motivated to spend more money on a gift in order to send a “stronger signal” to their intended receiver. As for gift-receivers, they may not consider smaller and larger gifts as representing smaller and larger signals of thoughtfulness and consideration.
In practical terms, people spend hundreds of dollars each year on gifts, but somehow never learn to measure their gift expenses according to personal insight.
1.The underlined word “ambivalent” most nearly means ________.
A.unrealistic B.conflicted C.appreciative D.supportive
2.The authors indicate that people value gift-giving because they feel it ________.
A.functions as a form of self-expression
B.is an inexpensive way to show appreciation
C.requires the gift-receivers to return
D.can serve to strengthen a relationship
3.The authors refer to work by Camerer and others in order to__________.
A.offer an explanation B.introduce an argument
C.question an intension D.support a conclusion
If you look outside, you probably will see some kind of insect. If your first instinct is to kill it, take a moment to think about all of the benefits insects provide to the environment.
Entomologists, scientists who study insects, estimate that there are more than 800,000 species of insects found throughout the world. Only a few hundred of these insects are considered harmful. Mosquitoes, for example, are considered harmful. They bite humans and other animals, and their bites can cause skin pain and spread disease. Desert locusts also are considered harmful because they destroy crops causing billions of dollars in damage each year.
However, the number of helpful insect species far outweighs the number of harmful species. Some insects make up a vital part of the food chain. Many different birds, reptiles, fish and even plants eat insects. There are also about 500 insects that people in various parts of the world eat. These insects are considered delicious food and prized for their high protein, mineral, and vitamin content. Other insects produce valuable commercial products such as silk, wax, and honey.
Of all the insects, perhaps the most important are those that travel from flower to flower and pollinate(授粉) the plants they visit. Agriculture around the world would be very different without the bees, butterflies, moths, flies and wasps that pollinate many crops. In fact, nearly one-third of the food you eat depends on plants that are pollinated by insects!
While it is true that some species of insects harm or annoy us,you should not automatically reach for the bug spray when you come across an insect. You may be destroying one of the hundreds of thousands of insects that provides many benefits to human beings.
1.According to the passage, the most important type of insects are ________.
A.insects that are eaten by birds, reptiles and fish
B.insects that travel around and pollinate plants
C.insects that harm mosquitoes and stop the spread of disease
D.insects that are eaten by people in many countries
2.According to the passage, insects are eaten in some parts of the world because ________.
A.they are nutritious
B.they are available to cook
C.they are easy to breed
D.they are free
3.According to the author, the sentence in the last paragraph “you should not automatically reach for the bug spray.” means ________.
A.you should not keep insects as pets
B.you should not breed insects for their benefit
C.you should not catch insects for pleasure
D.you should not kill insects without thinking
4.The main purpose of this passage is ________.
A.to explain why it is cruel to kill bugs
B.to convince people that insects are nutritious
C.to describe the beneficial contributions of insects
D.to make people aware of endangered insect species
When the sand began kicking up and hitting our faces, I started to worry that maybe we had made a mistake.
That afternoon, my dad had stood on the deck (露台) of our home and laughed as our neighbors packed up their cars and headed inland. They left to spend the night in motels or at friends’ homes that were out of range of approaching summer storm.
Challenging the weather that threatened to damping our spirits, we lit a fire on the beach. Dad told jokes and we had a good time. When it was 6:30 p.m., all laughter disappeared. Our eyes were drawn to the sky. A tornado (龙卷风) was headed straight for us! In a flash, we were all on our feet. The wind started screaming and now we were running to the cottage. My mom stopped next to the front door. “Where can we go?” She shouted at my dad.
Most cottages on this part of Lake Michigan had been built without basements. Ours was no exception. The huge windows and the cottage itself wouldn’t offer safety from high wind.
“Follow me!” my dad yelled. We crawled (爬) beneath the deck, pressing ourselves against the foundation of the cottage. Between the deck supports, we watched the approaching storm in silent terror.
My dad shouted, “Hold on!” and something else I couldn’t hear over the screaming wind. I think he was praying. By the time it reached our cottage, it was nothing more than a strong wind. The rest of the storm lasted for an hour and then simply blew away.
“Next time, we’ll stay inland at Grandma’s. Okay?” my dad said.
1.What did the family do before the storm came?
A.They left the motels. B.They packed up the cars.
C.They stayed on the beach. D.They visited their neighbors.
2.What was the family’s immediate action when they saw the tornado approach?
A.Closing their eyes tightly. B.Praying in silent terror.
C.Crawling on the ground. D.Running away at once.
3.Where did the family stay in the storm?
A.Under a deck. B.In a basement.
C.Inside the car. D.Behind a door.
4.What can be the best title for the text?
A.Life on the beach B.An Unusual Cottage
C.Surviving a Storm D.My Admirable Family
Still seeking a destination for your weekend break? There are some places which are probably a mere wall away from your college.
King’s Art Centre
A day at the Centre could mean a visit to an exhibition of the work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists on show anywhere. This weekend sees the opening of an exhibition of four local artists.
You could attend a class teaching you how to ‘learn from the masters’ or get more creative with paint–free of charge.
The Centre also runs two life drawing classes for which there is a small fee.
The Botanic Garden
The Garden has over 8,000 plant species; it holds the research and teaching collection of living plants for Cambridge University.
The multi-branched Torch Aloe here is impressive. The African plant produces red flowers above blue-green leaves, and is not one to miss.
Get to the display house to see Dionaea muscipula, a plant more commonly known as the Venus Flytrap that feeds on insects and other small animals.
The Garden is also a place for wildlife-enthusiasts. Look for grass snakes in the lake. A snake called ‘Hissing Sid’ is regularly seen lying in the heat of the warm sun.
Byron’s Pool
Many stories surround Lord Byron’s time as a student of Cambridge University. Arriving in 1805, he wrote a letter complaining that it was a place of “mess and drunkenness”. However, it seems as though Byron did manage to pass the time pleasantly enough. I’m not just talking about the pet bear he kept in his rooms. He spent a great deal of time walking in the village.
It is also said that on occasion Byron swam naked by moonlight in the lake, which is now known as Byron’s Pool. A couple of miles past Grantchester in the south Cambridgeshire countryside, the pool is surrounded by the fields. The cries of invisible birds make the trip a lovely experience and on the way home you can drop into the village for afternoon tea. If you don’t trust me, then perhaps you’ll take it from Virginia Woolf, a famous writer,—over a century after Byron, she reportedly took a trip to swim in the same pool.
1.The main idea of the passage is ________.
A.interesting stories of Lord Byron
B.an approach to becoming creative in art
C.the colorful life in the countryside
D.some places for weekend break
2.If you are a wildlife enthusiast, you’d better go to ________.
A.Byron’s Pool B.the Botanic Garden
C.King’s Art Centre D.Cambridgeshire
3.According to the passage, the following statements are wrong except ________.
A.there is a small charge for attending the masters’ class
B.Byron liked swimming naked in the lake
C.Byron seemed to like keeping pet bears
D.Hissing Sid and Flytrap are impressive animals
4.The author’s purpose in mentioning Virginia Woolf is to show ________.
A.she was a famous writer
B.she was keen on swimming
C.she was Byron’s admirer
D.Byron’s Pool is a pleasant place
假如你叫李华，你所在城市近年来交通拥堵越来越严重，请你以学校学生会的名义向全校学生写一封绿色出行的倡议书。内容要点包括：
1.遵守交通规则；
2.乘坐公共交通或者骑自行车出行；
3.向身边人宣传绿色出行的方式和意义。
注意：
1.词数100左右；格式已给出；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：绿色出行 green travel
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧）,并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Dear Peter,
I'm glad to hear from you. Thank you very much for inviting me to America in this summer. I'd like to accept your warm invitation, and I'm sorry that I can't go to your hometown and visit you.
I refuse your invitation just due to the following reason. First of all, it cost a lot to travel abroad, which will add an extra burden to my family. Beside, I plan to do part-time job in the summer vacation. I can not only earn some money to cover my expenses but improving my social skills. For the reasons mentioning above, I believe you can understand how I can't accept your invitation. I hope this won't affect our friendship from the bottom of your heart.
Yours,
Li Hua
