Research shows that splashing the cash can increase feelings of pleasure-but it depends on who you spend it on. According to a growing body of evidence, it seems that it can. But what makes us really happy is not buying ourselves the latest iPhone, but splashing our cash on other people. In a study published last week, looking at the link between generosity and happiness, researchers from Zurich University divided 50 participants into two groups and asked them to publicly promise how they would spend a monthly donation. One group was asked to spend 25 Swiss francs a week on gifts or outings for other people, and the second group was asked to spend it on themselves.
Levels of happiness were measured on a subjective scale before and after the commitment. Those in the first group who promised generously increased their happiness more than the group who planned to buy themselves treats.
Participants then underwent an MRI scan to see which bits of the brain were the most active during generous acts. During the scan, participants were asked to work out how they would like to spend money on a person of their choice. Some of the choices involved participants having to pay extra out of their own pocket to give a gift. For example, they were told they would have to pay 20 francs in order for the receiver of their generosity to get 15 francs. There is a part of the brain—the temporo-parietal junction (头顶骨结合点)—that neuroscientists say is associated with generosity,as well as one linked with happiness—the ventral striatum (脑纹状体). When people made generous decisions in this study, both areas of the brain showed increased activity. The researchers conclude that their findings have important implications for all of us.
It is human nature, the evidence shows, to be generous, although, when asked in surveys, we assume that self-interest is a stronger emotion. But, it turns out, such self-interest doesn’t make us nearly as happy as giving to others. Studies in which people have been given envelopes of money to spend show that those who spent a proportion of it on a gift, or gave some to charity, felt happier than those who spent it on a present for themselves or a bill they needed to pay. A study of young children found that even toddlers (学步小孩) felt happier giving rather than getting treats. Other studies show that volunteering increases happiness.
Research looking at survey data from 136 countries found that spending on others has a “consistent, causal impact on happiness.” This was true across a range of cultures and economies. The best news is that you don’t have to give much to feel the benefits. And it is morally fine to give only because it makes you happier.
1.Why do the researchers from Zurich University divide 50 participants into two groups?
A. To stress how important feeling happy is.
B. To check whether they will donate generously.
C. To show how to splash our cash on other people.
D. To look at the connection between generosity and happiness.
2.What do the words “important implications” in the last sentence of Paragraph 3 refer to?
A. To be generous is human nature.
B. It’s hard for people to make generous decisions.
C. To be generous doesn’t make one happy as expected.
D. Bits of the brain have nothing to do with generosity.
3.What message does the passage mainly convey?
A. Getting treats is more delightful than giving for toddlers.
B. Whoever spends money on others can be truly depressed or feel gloomy.
C. Whoever is a giver of a gift or to a charity will morally feel more cheerful.
D. A gift can be anything but beneficial for the giver as well as the receiver.
4.Which of the following can be the most suitable title for the text?
A. Can money buy you happiness?
B. What is the quality of personal relationships?
C. What is the purpose of undergoing an MRI scan?
D. How to balance self-interest and encourage generosity?
Like“ Titanic(1997)” and another record- breaking“ Avatar(2009)”, the very first film to hit one billion yuan at China’s box office, both directed by James Cameron, American films are an unavoidable part and hold plenty of appeal for Chinese film-goers, including me. However, while American movies have gained great influence in China and become part of everyday popular culture, Chinese films have failed to win an equal amount of recognition in the U.S. market.
Hollywood, known as a remarkable film production center, exported the biggest number of mainstream movies around the globe. Both its marvelous storytelling techniques and smooth production process have made it the most successful film industry in the world, gaining global acceptance. It has its own standards about the scriptwriting format throughout its filmmaking process while China has no such. Moreover, in Hollywood, a break during the production period is a must for all crew members whereas most Chinese film crew do not even allow their production team time to rest on the weekend.
Besides production, content is another important aspect of Hollywood’s cultural exportation. The United States is known as a melting pot, as it is a country of immigrants. Its culture, in a way, is more diversified than others’. And we can see an increased diversity in Hollywood movies over the years, especially since 2000. For example, in 2017, Hollywood blockbuster (大片) “Coco (2017)” tells the story of a Mexican boy who dreams of being a musician. Full of elements of the Mexican culture, the movie caused a global fever for Mexican music at the time. It also achieved great results in China, ranking as the 10th highest grossing (最高票房) film in the country in2017, with the box office being over one billion yuan.
In contrast, China’s highest grossing film of 2017, “Wolf Warrior 2”, despite having created a new record in the country’s box office, did not get too much attention in the U. S. market. In fact, there is hardly any Chinese movie that has become a blockbuster in foreign markets. One of the reasons may be that most Chinese films only tell domestic stories with strong domestic elements, which is not wrong but makes it hard to attract foreign viewers due to the narrow themes.
While seeking to tell Chinese stories that are able to gain global popularity is still a question for Chinese filmmakers, fortunately, the technical aspect in the Chinese film industry has been improving thanks to the abundant cash flow in the market. When that day comes, more people will get a chance to learn more about China, one of the most beautiful places on the planet, which reminds me of the famous quote from “The Shawshank Redemption (1994)”, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.”
1.What can we conclude from the passage?
A. Chinese films are not well worth watching compared with Hollywood movies.
B. Chinese films are in a sense not as popular globally despite abundant cash flow.
C. Who directed China’s highest grossing film of 2017, “Wolf Warrior 2” is evident.
D. American films global acceptance is bound to worsen the Chinese film industry greatly.
2.Why do most Chinese films hardly attract foreign viewers?
A. Because they have no knowledge of Chinese filmmakers.
B. Because the Chinese culture is more diversified than others’.
C. Because they only tells Chinese stories with strong domestic elements.
D. Because in China there is no unusually successful hit like Hollywood Blockbuster.
3.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. American films have gained great influence in China.
B. How Chinese stories affect the American film market.
C. The outline about the history and development of Hollywood.
D. Why Chinese films fail to gain much recognition in the U. S market.
4.What is the author’s opinion towards the present situation of Chinese films?
A. Contradictory. B. Objective.
C. Doubtful. D. Indifferent.
Videos and video calls are becoming increasingly popular on social media in China, particularly on WeChat, the country’s most-used messaging app. We Chat’s 1.08 billion monthly active users last year made 410 million daily video and audio calls. That was 5.7 times more than in 2015, when WeChat first disclosed its operational data.
Uploading videos on WeChat Moments, a function that allows users to share their latest whereabouts, has become more widely used, with the number of videos posted multiplying 4.8 times in the past 4 years.
As a one-stop solution for Chinese people’s daily lives, We Chat has been able to produce a breakdown of its users’ preferences by age group. Those born in the 1980s for example are followers of news related to state and public affairs, whereas those younger than 20 spend the most on sweet treats.
In line with previous findings, China’s elderly population are becoming adept at using WeChat as a means of communication and conducting errands (办差事). As of September 2018, over 63 million users were registered as 55 years old or above. This group recorded an average length of 11 minutes for video calls, topping all age groups. We Chat Wallet has also registered exponential (指数的) growth, with payments in public transportation and high-speed traffic rising 4.7 times and 6.3 times, separately. Spending in retail stores and dining via WeChat rose by 1.5 times and 1.7 times. The number of users who use the app for making medical appointments and paying bills almost tripled.
1.Which of the following is closer to the truth according to the passage?
A. The number of videos posted has declined in the past 4 years.
B. The users’ preferences for WeChat can be various by age group.
C. Downloading videos on WeChat Moments is widely banned officially.
D. The number of users’ spending in retail stores and dining via WeChat will be doubled.
2.From what column on a certain website is the above passage most probably taken?
A. VIDEOS B. ADVERTISING
C. BUSINESS D. CAREER DEVELOPMENT
3.What does the underlined word “adept” in the last paragraph roughly mean?
A. disappointed B. inexperienced
C. surprised D. skilled
4.What is the passage mainly concerned about accordingly?
A. Video use continues to rise sharply on WeChat.
B. WeChat video calls are more frequently used by those younger than 20.
C. The post-80s are more likely fond of public affairs as well as sweet treats.
D. Making medical appointments and payments on We Chat will be more convenient.
Security Privacy> <Legal Policies> Feb. 18, 2019 Cloudy Mon
Last updated: August 29, 2017. To see what has changed, click here.
Amazon. com does not sell products for purchase by children. We sell children’s products for purchase by adults. If you are under 18, you may use Amazon. com only with the involvement of a parent or guardian. We do not deliberately collect personal information from children under the age of 13 without the consent (同意，允许) of the child’s parent or guardian. For more information, please see our Children’ s Privacy Disclosure (隐私泄露).
Children’s privacy is important to Amazon. This disclosure and the Amazon Privacy Notice describe how we handle personal information we collect from children under the age of 13. We offer some services intended for children, and in some cases we may know a child is using our services. In these situations, children may share and we may collect personal information that requires parental consent. Child Personal Information could include, for example, name, birthdate, contact information, voice, photos, videos, location, certain activity and device formation, and certain other types of information described in our Privacy Notice.
We use Child Personal Information to provide and improve our products and services, including personalizing offerings and recommendations for children, communicating information, parental controls,and giving parents visibility( AJ J E) into how their children use our products and services. We will not serve interest-based ads to your child when they are using an Amazon child profile. We share Child Personal Information only as described in our Privacy Notice. Your child may be able to share information publicly and with others depending on the products and services used.
You choose whether to give us permission to collect Child Personal Information from your child. We do not knowingly collect, use, or disclose Child Personal Information without this permission. Please note that if you withdraw the permission you have provided for your child or request deletion of Child Personal Information, certain services and features may no longer be available.
Please contact us at: Amazon. com. Inc.
410 Terry Ave. North, Seattle, WA98109-5210
Attention: Legal Department
htps://amazon. com/contact-us/
1.Which of the following statements best serves as the title of the passage?
A. Amazon Products and Services
B. Amazon Children’s Privacy Disclosure
C. How Amazon Uses Child Personal Information
D. Personal Information Amazon Collects From Children
2.What do you know from the passage?
A. The passage is about how to protect children s privacy.
B. Never does Amazon share Child Personal Information.
C. It is more than a year ago that this Webpage was last updated.
D. You are not allowed to withdraw the permission you have provided.
3.What can you infer from the above passage?
A. Amazon. com does not sell children’s products.
B. The passage tells us more about grown-ups information than children’s.
C. Amazon collects children’s personal information without their parental permission.
D. Children can’t see the ads of the products they are interested in on the Amazon web.
假设你是晨光中学的李津。为配合学校的“读书月”活动，你校英语社团的微信 公众号开展以“Let’s Read”为题的征文活动。要求同学们根据个人的阅读体会，从 所读过的书籍中选定一种类型，推荐给其他同学。现请你投稿，文章内容应包括：
（1）推荐书籍的类型及特点；
（2）推荐的理由。 参考词汇：
科幻小说 science fiction 侦探小说 detective novel 魔幻小说 fantasy
传记文学 biography 科普读物 popular science
注意：
（1）词数不少于 100；
（2）所选书籍类型不限于参考词汇给出的范围；
（3）内容充实、行文连贯；
（4）题目已给出，不计入总词数。
March 22, 2019
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By Li Jin
阅读短文，按照题目要求用英语回答问题。
My teacher Peter Bullock proved that science wasn’t boring and made physics great fun. In every lesson he would produce one of those worksheets in purple ink that smelled fresh from the machine. Every sheet contained a poem or a joke and we looked forward to them being handed out. I’ve kept them all to show to my own children. There was one poem in particular that’s stayed in my memory, which went:
In early days Man measured Time
By sunrise and sunset sublime;
As well as being able to turn physics into poetry, Peter had energy and passion and conveyed the sense that science was part of the world around you and not a dull boring academic discipline. I’m sure he was sticking pretty much to the standard topics—waves and electricity and so on—but he managed to convert everything into a joke or a story and did so in a clever and imaginative way.
Peter Bullock was not only an exciting teacher, but also the man who founded the debate club in my school. He encouraged me to take part and express myself in a forceful way that I’ve been doing ever since—and getting paid for it. That made me what I am today—a commercial lawyer.
Peter Bullock taught me throughout my secondary schooling and I took physics, chemistry and maths at A-level. Everyone in his class enjoyed learning. He was inspiring. He turned me on to the idea that the things you are interested in might seem dull on the surface, but you can still excite others. For example, when I tell people I’m interested in law, they may think: “How boring.” I guess being a physics teacher is much the same. Peter showed me that what matters is how you convey your own passion so that you excite other people.
1.Why did the students expect to get the worksheets in Peter’s class? (no more than 10 words)
2.What is the meaning of the underlined word in Para. 2? (1 word)
3.What does Para. 3 mainly tell us? (no more than 15 words)
4.How did Peter make his students interested in the things that seem dull? (no more than 10 words)
5.What do you think is the most important quality of a good teacher? Please explain. (no more than 20 words)
