I was three months pregnant with twin boys when my husband and I learned that one of them had a fatal birth defect (缺陷). His skull and brain were not ______ properly. Babies with this ______ typically die within minutes, hours or days of being born.
This news was devastating (毁灭性的), and also ______. I wondered, was it something I ate, was it something I ______, was it something I did? But then, ______ it was, why was one of them healthy? So I was ______ with a lot of questions that would never have answers.
Six months later, the twins were born, and they were both born ______. Thomas lived for six days. Callum was healthy. We had decided to ______ Thomas's organs to science. While his death was inevitable, we thought maybe it could be ______.
Three years later. I ______ whether these donations made a ______. So I ______ at the Schepens Eye Research Institute the next day. A receptionist ______ me to Dr. James Zieske, a professor of Hansard Medical School. He ______ my hand and said, “Do you have any questions for me?” I was so ______ at meeting him. I said. “How many corneas (眼角膜) do you request in a year?” He said, “'About ten a year. We would request more, but they are hard to get, and infant eyes are like ______ to us.” My heart was just in my throat. I could ______ choke out the words. He added, “We are likely still studying your son's eye cells, and they are probably in this lab right now.”
When the tour ______, I felt something in me starting to ______. I felt that my son had ______ his place in the world, and that place was Harvard. I'm now an Ivy League mum.
1.A.combined B.formed C.distributed D.adapted
2.A.diagnosis B.judgment C.position D.symbol
3.A.shocking B.encouraging C.confusing D.terrifying
4.A.bought B.collected C.drank D.ignored
5.A.even if B.as if C.in case D.regardless of
6.A.meeting B.associating C.wrestling D.competing
7.A.deaf B.alive C.blind D.equal
8.A.deliver B.apply C.attach D.donate
9.A.ambitious B.inspiring C.rewarding D.productive
10.A.wondered B.imagined C.assumed D.explained
11.A.deal B.difference C.mistake D.fortune
12.A.showed up B.pulled up C.set out D.brought out
13.A.recommended B.related C.introduced D.announced
14.A.grabbed B.shook C.rubbed D.touched
15.A.sensitive B.heartbroken C.privileged D.emotional
16.A.gold B.sunshine C.silver D.light
17.A.slightly B.rarely C.hardly D.definitely
18.A.repeated B.concluded C.expanded D.processed
19.A.disappear B.hurt C.change D.arise
20.A.found B.set C.confirmed D.proved
Music is an international language that is beautiful to people all over the world. It seems to be a natural need for us. 1.
Music plays a significant role in education. Studies have indicated that music physically develops the part of the brain known to be involved with language. 2. Therefore the development of one promotes the growth of the other, and musical training not only develops a child's language skills but also promotes the learning of a second language. Music also causes improvement in brainpower. The thought patterns that are formed while studying music may help improve the ability to learn other subjects.
3. First, music is beneficial with its ability to reduce stress. And stress is associated with many illnesses, which can be prevented with stress reduced. When people are very stressed, there is a tendency to avoid listening to music. 4. But as we know, productivity increases when stress is reduced.
Additionally, music can have positive influence on mood, and many people will turn to certain songs to improve their moods. The main reason behind this phenomenon is that music has the ability to express one's feelings better than any other medium. 5. It also increases self-confidence.
A.So how does it help us?
B.The two are so closely related.
C.Let's see how people enjoy music.
D.Perhaps it feels like a waste of time.
E.The key is to choose the right type of music.
F.Music has some sort of psychological effect.
G.Good music also makes us remember the moments when we were happy.
The first study to examine generational differences in perfectionism over the past three decades reports that young people's desire to be flawless has sharply increased over the past thirty years. Today's college-age students are much more likely to have perfectionism than prior generations, according to the new report.
This study was recently published in the journal Psychological Bulletin. For this study, lead author Thomas Curran and co-author Andrew Hill, analyzed data from 41,641 college students in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. They also used the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale to measure generational changes in perfectionism from the late 1980s to 2016. During their analysis, Curran and Hill investigated three types of perfectionism:
l. Self-oriented perfectionism: having an irrational desire to be perfect on oneself.
2. Other-oriented perfectionism: Placing unrealistic standards of perfection on others.
3. Socially-perfectionism: Feeling excessive expectations of perfection from others.
The statistics are alarming: Between 1989 and 2016, self-oriented perfectionism scores increased by 10 percent, other-oriented perfectionism increased by 16 percent, and socially-perfectionism increased largely by 33 percent.
The rise in perfectionism among college students is driven by a variety of factors, according to Curran. The raw data suggests that the growing use of social media could be fueling the pressure young adults feel to perfect themselves in comparison to others. That said, Curran emphasizes that more research is needed to confirm the relation between an increase in social media usage and increased perfectionism.
Curran also assumes that college students' drive to perfect their grade point average represents a rise in meritocracy (精英教育) among the new generation.
“Today's young people are competing with each other in order to meet societal pressures to succeed and they feel that perfectionism is necessary in order to feel safe, socially connected and of worth.” Curran said.
Andrew Hill sees these findings as a strong call for colleges and policymakers to increase their efforts to control unnecessary competition among young people in order to preserve their mental health. Unfortunately, this may be easier said than done.
1.What does the underlined word “flawless” in the first paragraph probably mean?
A.without effort B.without competition
C.without weakness D.without strength
2.What can you infer from the passage?
A.All college students of this generation have serious perfectionism.
B.Self-oriented perfectionism increased the most according to the latest study.
C.The increase in perfectionism is completely driven by some obvious factors.
D.It is uncertain whether increased social media usage causes more perfectionism.
3.What's the writer's attitude toward the effect of the study on the change of the situation?
A.Concerned. B.Negative.
C.Positive. D.Critical.
Today I would like to give you a powerful technique that you can use to become outstanding.
This technique is called anchoring, which has its roots in Pavlovian behavior modification. You remember Pavlov. He was the Russian scientist who made dogs salivate (分泌唾液) by ringing a bell.
Here's how he did it: He would start by ringing a bell while letting dogs smell meat powder. They would salivate from smelling the meat powder. Eventually, he only needed to ring a bell and this alone caused the dogs to salivate. The dogs had associated the bell with hunger. The bell was an anchor for salivation. Pretty simple, huh?
It is possible to apply this same basic technique to almost any problem. Now let's take a look at how Pavlov's discovery can help you to feel powerful and confident.
Here is how positive anchoring works: Step l. Think of three times in your life when you felt very powerful and write them down; Step 2. Stand alone in a room and think of the first situation. Recall it in full color with sound and anything else that could make it real to you; Step 3. At the moment when you feel fully back in that moment, slap (拍击) your left shoulder with your right hand and say, “Power!”; Step 4. Repeat steps 1-3 for each of the three memories.
Remember, you want to anchor each feeling by slapping your shoulder when you feel the memory at its most intense moment.
Now that you have created an anchor, you can “fire it off” as needed. The next time you are in a situation requiring confidence, slap your left shoulder with your right hand and say, “Power!” Just as sure as Pavlov's dogs salivated when they heard that bell, you will gain full confidence because now your mind associates confidence with that slap and the word “power”!
Occasionally feeling a lack of confidence is a normal part of being human. Having an effective strategy for immediately turning this into confidence is a normal part of being outstanding.
1.When did Pavlov ring a bell in the beginning of his experiment?
A.When the dogs stopped salivating.
B.When the dogs stopped smelling meat powder.
C.When the dogs were smelling meat powder.
D.When the dogs were salivating.
2.What does the underlined “that moment” in Step 3 refer to?
A.Any of the situations. B.The first situation.
C.The time you say “Power!” D.The time you stand alone in a room.
3.Which of the following plays the same role as the bell ringing in Pavlov's experiment?
A.Repeat of steps 1-3. B.The three memories.
C.Your right hand. D.The slap and the word “power”.
4.What is the purpose of the four-step process?
A.To refresh memories. B.To remain confident.
C.To solve a problem. D.To get an anchor.
Russia has announced that it is developing a specialized washing machine for astronauts to use in space. The announcement came from a missile, spaceship and space station manufacturer RKK.
Normal washing machines require gravity to function, not to mention significant amounts of water that has to be stored somewhere and increases weight — they are not suitable for space missions (任务). This means that astronauts cannot wash their clothes and either have to pack enough for their whole trip or rely on costly resupply missions and throw used items into space.
Crewmembers taking part in long-term missions on the International Space Station (ISS) often end up wearing the same garments for several continuous days and just change into new ones when they get dirty. Aside from this issue, wearing dirty clothes can be uncomfortable for the astronauts and could also provide perfect conditions for dangerous bacteria to grow and spread.
RKK has previously outlined plans for a space washing machine in a Russian space industry journal paper published in 2017. In the paper, the authors estimated (估计) that 1,450 pounds of clothes are surprisingly transported to the ISS every year to cover the requirements of just three astronauts. And this quantity could increase to three tons for a two-year voyage to Mars involving six crewmembers and could increase the costs and complexity of a mission.
The Russian scientists said that, instead of water, the washing machine would use the carbon dioxide produced by the astronauts’ breathing in the spaceship. Special technology would then turn the gas into a liquid under high pressure in order to clean the clothes.
The Russian designs are not the first proposals for a space washing machine. NASA has previously made a model of a low-power, low-water washing device (设备) which was designed to work in the microgravity of low-Earth orbit or that of the moon or Mars.
1.Normal washing machines are not suitable in the spaceship mainly because __________.
A.they lead to serious space pollution
B.they make some bacteria spread
C.they require gravity to function
D.they increase the weight of the spaceship
2.What might be the biggest advantage of the specialized washing machine?
A.Helping astronauts dry their clothes.
B.Having a competition against NASA.
C.Making the missions cheaper and easier.
D.Getting astronauts to adapt to the environment.
3.Where can astronauts get the liquid for washing clothes in the spaceship?
A.From the water tank in the spaceship. B.From the outer space.
C.From the recycling water in the spaceship. D.From the gas carbon dioxide.
4.What does the text mainly talk about?
A.Russia is developing a space washing machine.
B.A space washing machine has been used in Russia.
C.NASA’s made a model of a space washing machine.
D.RKK transports tons of clothes to astronauts in space.
George: Our capital city sums up our culture. London's skyline is justly famous for the different buildings that can be seen such as the Post Office Tower, the “Gherkin” and the Tower of London, to name just a few. Finally, there is Big Ben and the House of Parliament where the government is based. England does have a monarchy (君主) but it is really the government that is in power. London is particularly great on 5th November when we celebrate Guy Fawkes Night. This was the night in 1605 when Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Parliament. On that night every year the sky around London is full of fireworks.
Yoshi: Because our country is a group of islands, most of our food comes from the sea and we are particularly famous for our raw fish. Noodles and rice are also important. Japanese food has changed very little through the ages. For example, it is still considered correct to eat with chopsticks instead of a knife and a fork. It is also expected that before we staff eating we say “itadakimasu”. We even say it to ourselves when we are alone. English people can find this strange when eating with us. There is no translation really, the best being “I shall receive”, but that doesn't mean much I suppose.
Helen: The Isles of Scilly is not really a different country but it certainly has a different way of life and that life is controlled by the world around us. Our islands are not very inviting. They are very rocky with lots of hills and valleys and it is almost impossible to get away from the sea. It is also very, very windy here because it is the place where the Atlantic begins. However, it is also very beautiful and the summers are great. On the Isles of Scilly we believe in living close to nature. We still live a quite traditional life on the island and we take great care to preserve the natural character of the islands.
1.The author writes the passage to .
A.provide tourist information B.introduce various cultures
C.attract more students from overseas D.explain some historical events
2.What happened in London in 1605?
A.Guy Fawkes set off fireworks in parliament.
B.People began to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night.
C.The Parliament narrowly escaped being exploded.
D.The sky around London was full of fireworks on 5th November.
3.Yoshi tells about Japanese culture mainly through their .
A.food B.architecture
C.climate D.religion
4.What does Helen say about the Isles of Scilly?
A.It is rich in natural resources.
B.People there like to invite visitors to their homes.
C.It has quite a few scenic spots.
D.People there enjoy living close to the nature.
