Studies show that older people tend to remember the positive things in life rather than the negative things, while younger people remember the positive and negative equally well. The dominant psychological theory to explain this is that older people are aware of their limited time left, so they prioritize positive emotional experiences. But about a decade ago, I worked with biologist Robert Trivers on his idea that there was an evolutionary basis for older people’s increased positive outlook. Our research took us in the fascinating direction of exploring how the body uses its energy.
When our ancestors needed more energy than usual, perhaps while being chased by a tiger, they had to get that energy from somewhere in the body. Could they borrow it from the brain? That organ uses 20 percent of our metabolic (新陈代谢) output, whether we are solving math problems or watching television reruns. Due to this constant energy requirement, borrowing energy from the brain when our need surpasses the available supply is not an option. Perhaps we could borrow energy from our muscles. Because we use far more muscle energy when we are active than when at rest, in principle, we could borrow energy when we are sitting. But the problem is that most of the energy-demanding emergencies of our ancestors required a muscular response. There was no way to borrow energy from our muscles during an emergency because relaxing when a tiger showed up was not an effective response. This brings us to our immune system, which, when strong, protects us from many illnesses and diseases. Like the brain, the immune system works at great metabolic cost, but largely in the service of keeping us healthy in the future. We have an enormous number of immune cells coursing through our body, a momentary break from production is fine. So, when our body needs extra energy, one of the places it goes is our immune function. When you’re being chased by a tiger, you don’t need to waste energy making immune cells to fight off tomorrow’s cold. What you need is to shift all available energy resources to your legs, with the hope that you will live to experience another cough or sneeze.
As a result, our immune system evolved to run in maximum amounts when we’re happy, but to slow down dramatically when we’re not. With this background in mind, Trivers supposed that older people evolved a strategy of turning this relationship on its head, becoming more focused on the positive things in life in an effort to enhance their immune functioning. This was helped along by their knowing much more about the world than younger adults, so they can deal with some of the unpleasant things in life more easily.
1.According to Robert Trivers, when our body needs extra energy, ______.
A. muscles will respond to it by relaxing a little bit
B. organs will speed up metabolic processes to answer it
C. immune system will temporarily shut down to fulfill it
D. brain will satisfy it by sharing optional metabolic output
2.In paragraph 3 “this relationship” most probably refers to the one between ______.
A. experiences and related knowledge B. happiness and biological evolution
C. immune function and health D. optimism and length of life
3.What can be concluded from Robert Trivers’ study?
A. Younger people adopt strategies of handling tense situations from everyday life.
B. Our ancestors evolved their immune systems in fighting against fierce animals.
C. Realizing that their days are numbered, older people prefer being positive.
D. Being negative drains energy from our body, lowering resistance to disease.
4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Brain, muscles and immune system B. Age, health and happiness
C. Ancestors, emergency and evolution D. Energy, effort and response
Is it wrong—either grammatically or in terms of style—to mix the simple past tense with the past perfect in one sentence? To give an example, the following seems a bit heavy and awkward to me: “There had been a time when she had been happier.’ I prefer: ‘There had been a time when she was happier.’ Any thoughts?
—ALEX
I think the second version is the correct one—it’s shorter and clearer. Rather than focusing on tenses, focus on the clean, short sentence. If something seems heavy and awkward to you, the writer—then it probably is. Always short sentences.
---DIANA
I have constructed texts for a range of children’s picture books all based on working profession: bus driver, postman, footballer, cleaner, teacher, policeman to list a few. I’ve listed about thirty professions so far. I thought of titling them as Mr Bus Driver, Mr Postman and so on. Would I be infringing (侵权) the Mr Men titles if I did or should I think of something else?
—RAJIV
The Mr Men stories are based on characteristics, not on jobs—Mr Lazy, Mr Noisy, etc—so they bear no relation to your projects. However, you will come under fire from gender equality supporters—every job you list could equally be done by a woman. No teacher and few parents would find work useful if it implies that all professions are open only to men. I advise you to look at modern children’s books in a library or bookshop.
---DIANA
1.Alex wants to know how to ______.
A. avoid uncertain terms in writing B. use tenses properly in one sentence
C. improve grammatical skills D. focus on clear and short sentences
2.Diana reminds Rajiv that he will be severely criticized for ______.
A. tending to hold gender prejudice B. breaking the law using Mr Men titles
C. not characterizing enough professions D. not running a project related to education
3.Which of the following questions is not supposed to be asked if you email Diana?
A. Is there a good market for traditional poems these days?
B. Can you possibly evaluate my recently written novel enclosed?
C. Where can I get some instructive books on writing for my son?
D. How can I write an appropriate acknowledgement for my book?
The bus screamed to a stop in Nazareth, Israel. Five Australian backpackers boarded and struck up a conversation with me. They asked typical travelers’ questions—where was I going and why was I traveling alone? My plan was to travel with a friend of a friend, I explained, but when I called her that morning, she didn’t pick up and I had no other way to reach her. My stomach was in knots, but I decided to head out anyway, thinking I might run into her if I traveled to Tiberius, where we had planned to go together.
“Why don’t you travel with us?” one of the backpackers offered. They were experienced adventurers who would work for a few months, save, then travel for as long as they could. Their current plan was to explore the Middle East and Europe in three months while working in London.
It seemed risky to travel with strangers, but my instinct said yes. For the next two weeks, I explored Israel with the backpackers and learned to trust my instincts in all types of new and interesting situations. When they hook a ride, I took the bus, but when they wanted to steal into the King David Hotel’s swimming pool, I led the way. The world opened up to me because I chose to travel alone. I joined complete strangers, who become close friends. Years later, one couple from the backpacking group even flew from Sydney to Phoenix to be in my wedding. The trip was such a special experience that it gave me confidence in all areas of my life. Since then, I’ve backpacked alone across South Africa, sky-dived from 12,000 feet in New Zealand and even moved across the U.S. with no job lined up.
On my third day wandering in Israel with my new friends, I bumped into the woman I was supposed to meet. Though I was happy she was all right, I was grateful she hadn’t picked up the phone.
1.By “My stomach was in knots” (in paragraph 1), the author most likely means that she was ______.
A. sick of riding on a bumpy bus B. nervous of meeting strangers
C. upset about the sudden change D. sorry about the impractical plan
2.Which of the following best describes the backpackers the author met?
A. Courageous but disrespectful. B. Jobless and poorly educated.
C. Warmhearted and trustworthy. D. Homeless but lighthearted.
3.The author’s sixth sense told her that ______.
A. she would get along with the backpackers B. it might cause trouble to have a swim
C. she ought to stay away from the backpackers D. it could add excitement to get a free ride
4.What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Most of the backpackers became the author’s lifelong friends.
B. The author gathered the courage to be a fulltime backpack traveler.
C. The woman missed the phone call with the purpose of traveling alone.
D. The author considered it the best decision of her life to travel on her own.
Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
Keeping it in the family
“You understand grandmother when she talks to you, don’t you, darling?” The girl nods. I met her, her Japanese mother and English father on a plane to Japan. The parents were eager to ____ their experience of bringing up their daughter bilingually (使用双语地) in London. It isn’t easy: the husband does not speak Japanese, so the child hears the language only from her mother, who has come to ____ that the girl will reply in English. This can be painful. Not sharing your first language with loved ones is hard. Not passing it on to your own child can be especially tough. Many immigrant parents feel a sense of ____.
Children learn languages easily, but this doesn’t mean that ____ exposure is enough. They must hear a language quite a bit to understand it—and use it often to be able to speak it comfortably. This is mental work, and a child who doesn’t have an intention to speak a language will often avoid it. So languages often die when parents move abroad. In the past, governments discouraged immigrant families from keeping their languages. These days, officials tend to be ____; some even see a valuable resource in immigrants’ language abilities. Yet many factors ensure that children still lose their parents’ languages, or never learn them. A big one is institutional ____. A child’s time spent with a second language is time not spent on their first. So teachers often discourage parents from speaking their languages to their children. Parents often ____ obey, worried about their children’s education. This is a(n) ____, for children really can master two languages or even more. Research does indeed suggest their vocabulary in each language may be somewhat smaller for a while, but other studies hint at intellectual advantages among bilinguals. They may be more skillful at complex tasks, better at maintaining attention.
Even without those side effects, ____, a bilingual child’s connection to another culture is a good thing in itself. How to ____? When both parents share the native language, the strategy is often to speak that at home, and the national language outside. But when they have ____ languages, perhaps the most common approach is “one parent, one language”. Francois Grosjean, a language expert from Switzerland, ____ the necessity. He recommends reserving occasions on which the only language that may be spoken is the one that needs ____. Sabine Little, a language expert at the University of Sheffield, puts the emphasis elsewhere. Making the native language yet another task ____ by parents can lead to rejection, she argues. She recommends letting the child form their own ____ connection to the language, for languages are not just another thing to be drilled into a young mind, but a matter of the heart.
1.A. conceal B. publicize C. discuss D. imagine
2.A. accept B. argue C. decide D. ensure
3.A. excitement B. inferiority C. failure D. injustice
4.A. momentary B. maximum C. repeated D. continued
5.A. less stimulated B. less controlling C. more relieved D. more discouraging
6.A. engagement B. feature C. prejudice D. pressure
7.A. cheerfully B. faithfully C. immediately D. reluctantly
8.A. instance B. shame C. ambition D. suggestion
9.A. though B. hence C. besides D. otherwise
10.A. keep it up B. carry it on C. figure it out D. bring it about
11.A. multiple B. different C. foreign D. target
12.A. removes B. challenges C. emphasises D. ignores
13.A. preservation B. restriction C. rejection D. connection
14.A. performed B. imposed C. shared D. recommended
15.A. skillful B. powerful C. apparent D. emotional
Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
To any soldier
I served as a second lieutenant (少尉) in a war thirty years ago. Married for only a year and a half, I missed my wife and baby daughter a lot. In the years before cell phones and Wi-Fi, we had limited opportunities 1. (communicate) with loved ones.
One night while sitting by myself, I investigated the “Any Soldier” mailbox, a cardboard box with letters and packages from Americans. I chose one shoebox-size package. Inside I found about 20 greeting cards 2. children. At the bottom was a letter written by their teacher 3. (explain) how her kids had put the box together and how they supported our efforts in the war. Truly touched at that very moment by this gesture, I decided to write a letter of gratitude. I thanked the teacher for 4. her children had done—its impact on my patriotism, my morale, and, 5. (significantly), my uplifted faith. For security reasons, I was able to sign only my name.
Around 2013, I received a Facebook friend request from a woman with 6. I shared no contacts. I replied that 7. we were friends, I could not accept her request. She responded with one question: “Are you Second Lieutenant Bartholomew?” I replied that I had been at one time.
“Dear sir,” she wrote. “We have never met, but thirty years ago I was a second-grade teacher at a school in Ohio and our classroom sent a care package 8. (address) to ‘Any Service Member.’ The thank-you letter you composed was framed and it 9. (post) on the wall of the school for more than 20 years. I wanted to again thank you for your service to our country.”
We never spoke again, but this gracious teacher strengthened my belief in doing what my mother always taught me: Write thank-you notes— 10. never know how many people your kindness can touch.
Questions are based on the following speech.
1.
A. It sells things from ancient Egypt. B. It looks like an Egyptian giant.
C. It brings a feel of a different world. D. It offers a wide range of cheeses.
2.
A. Produced by the department store itself. B. Supplied by a nearby small town.
C. Collected from the outside of the building. D. Obtained from the numerous light bulbs.
3.
A. Customers spend £1.5 million or so per day. B. Around 30,000 customers come per day.
C. There is a big increase in customers and sales. D. Customer flow and sales are quite unsteady.
