Getting stuck with gifts we do not want is no small problem. In a survey across 14 countries in Europe, meanwhile, 1 in 7 said they were unhappy with what they received for Christmas, yet more than half simply kept the gifts.
Why can’t more gifts be passed along to people who appreciate them? People in a study published in the Journal of Consumer Behaviour, for instance, used such words as guilty, lazy, thoughtless and disrespectful in describing their feelings about regifting. Popular culture casts it as taboo (禁忌), as well.
However, our research with Francis J. Flynn, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, suggests the shame associated with regifting is largely unwarranted. Indeed, our research consistently tells us that people overestimate the negative consequences.
We asked people to imagine themselves as a “giver,” who gives someone a gift card and later learned it had been regifted. The general attitude of the original givers was: “It’s your gift, do what you want with it.” Next, we asked givers to compare regifting a supposed wristwatch with throwing it in the trash. For the original givers, regifting the watch was a much less offensive act than trashing it.
Finally, we invited to our lab at Stanford people who had recently received presents, and divided the people into two groups. When we gave the first group an opportunity to regift that present, 9% did so. When we gave the second group the same opportunity, we added that it was “National Regifting Day”. It wasn't really National Regifting Day, but the group didn’t know that: 30% of them agreed to regift.
Everyone has received unwanted gifts in their lives, and generally we will receive more in the future. Our research offers a simple solution to that problem. This holiday season, consider regifting, and encourage receivers of your gifts to do the same if what you gave them isn't quite what they hoped for.
1.Why does the author mention the study in Journal of Consumer Behaviour?
A.To highlight the importance of regifting.
B.To show people’s attitudes to regifting.
C.To challenge the rightness of regifting.
D.To express his concern for regifting.
2.What is the meaning of the underlined word “unwarranted”?
A.Unnecessary. B.Uncertain.
C.Unimportant. D.Unconscious.
3.What do we know about the research?
A.9% simply kept unwanted gifts.
B.30% didn’t know National Regifting Day.
C.Givers generally didn’t mind regifting.
D.Receivers tended to trash unwanted gifts.
4.What can we conclude from the text?
A.Regifting is offensive. B.Regifting is forbidden.
C.Regifting is popular. D.Regifting is acceptable.
Geese live to be around 25 years old, are very loyal, and never forget their first home. Even so, it came as a total shock to me when, in 2019, an aging adult wild goose made his way back to my family home. Geese love houses with large, green grassland to eat on; the flat area also makes it easy for them to watch out for predators (捕食者). So, at first, I assumed it was just another goose.
And yet, something about the lone male seemed oddly familiar to me. After two weeks of the goose coming back repeatedly, it became clear to me that this wasn’t a random goose. He did all of the same things Peeper used to, like trying to come in through the front door and sleeping in our enclosed pool area. In addition to following Peeper’s old ways, this goose also responded to the name Peeper. Much to my amazement, my old best friend had returned, 20 years later.
Why did Peeper return? It’s hard to say. Perhaps his mate died, leaving him lonely. If s also possible that he is approaching his twilight (薄脣) years and knows it, making him long for his early home. This behavior is typical of geese. Whatever the reason, Peeper continues to live with me. It’s a good thing that I stayed in my childhood home.
He doesn’t come home every single night the way he did as a baby. Some nights he may seek out the comfort of his own kind at the lake nearby. Geese in the wild typically sleep on water. But he’s here a lot, making his presence known and giving me joy. Many years later, the goose still remembers the true meaning of family. So do his people.
1.What was the author’s feeling at first?
A.Joyful. B.Natural.
C.Shocked. D.Strange.
2.Which best suggests that the goose was Peeper?
A.The goose kept coming back.
B.The goose reacted to the name.
C.The goose fed on the grassland.
D.The goose slept at the front door.
3.What can we infer from paragraph 3?
A.Peepers mate had made him return.
B.Peeper was too old to live in the wild.
C.The writer knew why Peeper returned.
D.The writer felt lucky to have Peeper back.
4.What does the author think of Peeper’s frequent presence?
A.He takes it as a sign of family bond.
B.He considers it as typical of geese.
C.He thinks Peeper is seeking comfort.
D.He supposes it to be a past habit.
Hawaii is full of attractions, beach parks and gathering places. Looking for something new and lesser-known? Check out these public parks throughout the islands.
Kapiolani Park (Oahu)
Located in the shadow of Diamond Head close to Waikiki Beach, there's a lot to love about Kapiolani Park. It was the first public space in Hawaii, (treated in 1877 by the last king of Hawaii, David Kalakaua, who named it after his wife, Queen Kapiolani. Ifs a nice place to get a glimpse of local life in Waikiki.
Opening time: Sunday to Saturday.
Waihee Beach Park (Maui)
Located off the main tourist trail, on the lesser - visited northeast coast of Maui, is Waihee Beach Park. The beach is small but scenic, with views looking north at the mountains and plenty of shade. Though narrow, the beach is long, making it perfect for a morning or evening walk.
Opening time: Except Tuesday.
Prince Kuhio Park (Kauai)
Prince Kuhio Park on Kauai is a monument to Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole. Close to Poipu Beach, the park has a nice view of the ocean. To the naked eye, that’s about it. But this Park serves as an opportunity to learn more about the lesser-known Kalanianaole, who is so respected in Hawaii that his birthday, March 26th, is a state holiday. Read up on his contributions to Hawaii and have a peaceful afternoon.
Opening time: Weekends.
Liliuokalani Park (Big Island)
Most visitors to Hilo are so focused on Hawaii Volcanoes National Park that they don’t take time to experience the town itself. It is in and around the waterfront park, Liliuokalani Park, that you can get the best glimpse of local life. Hilo has a strong waterfront presence. Liliuokalani Park at sunset is especially nice, thanks to its ocean views.
Opening time: Tuesday to Sunday.
1.On what day can one visit Prince Kuhio Park?
A.Monday. B.Wednesday.
C.Friday. D.Sunday.
2.Which park is an ideal place for evening walk?
A.Kapiolani Park. B.Waihee Beach Park.
C.Prince Kuhio Park. D.Liliuokalani Park.
3.Which of the following best describes the four parks?
A.Underrated. B.Romantic.
C.Historic. D.Well-known.
请阅读下面文字及图表，并按照要求用英语写一篇150词左右的文章。
Mandarin (普通话) is the common language in China, but each region has its own dialect (方言). For travelers, a familiar accent can refresh the memory of their hometown.
According to an official video by the Chinese Education Ministry’s Language Com mission, among the more than 130 languages spoken in China, 68 of them are spoken by less than 10,000 people; and 25 by under 1,000.
Hu Shuning, a dialect preservationist, said, “I think it is natural with a society’s development that a dominant language appears, but from a cultural aspect I think dialects are still important, because they reflect cultural diversity.”
“Mandarin can take you further, but your dialect tells you where you come from,” said Wang Han, a well-known TV host.
（写作内容）
1. 用约30个单词概述上述信息的主要内容；
2. 结合上述信息，简要分析保护我国地方方言的重要性；
3. 根据你的分析，谈谈保护地方方言的途径和方法。
（写作要求）
1. 写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；
2. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
3. 不必写标题。
（评分标准）
内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。
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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：每个空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应題号的横线上。
Everyone knows bullying (霸凌) is a huge problem, and we all need to work to stop it. But how? The science is unclear. While school districts across the country spend millions of dollars each year to stop bullying, not all anti-bullying programs work equally — and common approaches, it turns out, don’t work very well at all.
Many schools simply handle bullying by hosting an anti-bullying assembly. While that might be a good start experts agree that an annual address does little. “We can’t teach math overnight,” Catherine Bradshaw said, “It is not a skill you can learn in an hour. That is the whole issue with social emotional learning.”
When schools only host an assembly it sends the message to students that bullying isn’t important. That might mean students don’t seek help when they are being bullied or see a classmate being bullied. Bullying is a complex phenomenon. There are many reasons why children bully, why kids may be targeted. An approach needs to be comprehensive and touch all the risk factors and really can’t be seen as a short-term solution.
Another common strategy is to encourage the bully and victim to talk through the problem and promise to be nice to each other. While it sounds lovely, in the theory, the result normally contradicts the original intention.
A bullying prevention that’s integrated (融合) throughout the curriculum makes a difference. Heather Wellman, a seventh grade English language teacher, in Pueblo, Colorado, has used novels to explore social and emotional learning concepts around bullying. When her seventh grade students read Animal Farm they looked at whether Squealer was a good friend, which ties in with the anti-bullying and mental health program Sources of Strength that her school uses. Using fictional characters helps students better identify negative characteristics that might lead to bullying, while better understanding the books.
Sources of Strength encourages students to use positive things in their lives, such as helpful adult mentors (导师) or healthy activities, to address bullying. For example, the program helps children identify those strong people in their lives so they know where to turn if they do face problems.
Another strategy proven to reduce bullying: teaching social-emotional learning. This helps students better learn how to wrestle with their feelings in a positive way instead of taking it out on others. “They know what to do when they are bullied and develop skills with social and emotional learning so they can regulate their own emotions,” Bradshaw said.
Experts agree that any anti-bullying program is only as strong as a school’s commitment to it. To get results, you have to put in the time.
Passage outline | Supporting details |
A tough problem | Bullying in school is hard to deal with, and not all anti-bullying programs are 1. . |
2. approaches | ♦ Hosting an anti-bullying assembly might be a good start, which, however, will 3. students from seeking help in the bullying. So the short-term approach makes little 4.. ♦ Encouraging the bully and victim to understand the problem and promise to reach a(n) 5. sounds reasonable, but may have a(n) 6. effect. |
Integrated approaches | ♦ By better understanding novels students can 7. negative features which may be the 8. of bullying. ♦ A school program makes students clear about what or who they can 9. on to address bullying. ♦Teaching social-emotional learning helps reduce bullying. |
Summary | Anti-bullying programs and schools, 10. of time and energy can jointly produce ideal results. |
Curtis Whitson knew the water fall was coming. He'd rafted down the Arroyo Seco, a river in central California, before. He figured he would hop out of his raft into the shallow water, rappel (绕绳下降) down the rocks on either side of the falls, and continue on his way, as he had on a previous trip.
But this year was different. Heavy snow and spring rains had turned the usually manageable falls into something fierce. And this year, instead of his friends, Whitson’s companions were his wife, Krystal Ramirez, and his 13-year-old son, Hunter. As the three of them approached the falls late in the afternoon of the third day of their camping trip, Whitson could tell from the increasing roar of water in the narrow canyon (峡谷) that they were in serious trouble. There was no way they’d be able to rappel down the rocks as planned.
As he considered what to do, Whitson hit on a bit of luck — he heard voices coming from the other side of the falls. He yelled, but the sound of the rushing water drowned him out.
We have to get these people a message, Whitson thought.
He grabbed a stick and pulled out his pocketknife to carve “Help” in it. Then he tied a rope to it so the people would know it wasn’t just any stick. He tried throwing it over the falls, but it floated away in the wrong direction.
Then he spotted his green Nalgene water bottle. Whitson grabbed it and carved “Help!” on it. Ramirez also reminded him that he had a pen and paper, which she’d brought to play games with, in his backpack.
Whitson knew it was a long shot. But he scrawled (草草地写) “We are stuck here at the waterfall. Get help please!” and pushed the note into the bottle.
This time, his throw over the waterfall was perfect.
“All right, that’s all we can do,” Whitson told Hunter.
It took 30 minutes to navigate back upstream to the beach where they’d had lunch. They made a fire and laid out a tarp (油布). As the evening wore on, they placed a headlamp with a flashing light on a ledge (岩石突出部). By about 10:30 p.m.，they decided they probably weren’t going to get rescued that night, so they pulled out their sleeping bags. Before turning in， Ramirez added more wood to the fire to keep the mountain lions away.
Then, just after midnight, they heard a helicopter hovering above them. Whitson turned to his son and started shaking him.
“They’re here!” he said.
Whitson ran over to the headlamp and started flashing it at the helicopter. He, Ramirez, and Hunter were waving and hollering when they heard the magic words: “This is Search and Rescue. You have been found.”
The helicopter circled as the pilot looked for a good place to land. Finding none, the crew announced to the campers over the PA system that they would not be rescued until morning and told them to conserve their firewood.
The next morning, the helicopter returned and it was a moment of pure happiness as the three chatted with the officers who had rescued them. Together, they marveled (惊叹) at the unlikelihood of it all.
When the officers dropped them back at the Arroyo Seco Campground, the family learned more about the long shot events that had saved them: Two men had seen the water bottle in the water. When they picked it up, they noticed the writing on it — “Help!”. Then they realized there was a note inside. After they read it, they hightailed it to the campground, turned the bottle in, and took off without leaving their names.
A few days after news of the rescue broke, one of the hikers contacted Whitson. That’s when he learned the rest of the story. There were actually two little girls hiking with the men that day. It was the girls who first spotted the bottle and swam to get it. Whitson is planning on having a big barbecue to meet the hikers — and thank them.
“I imagine it’s going to be one of the greatest moments of my life.” he says.
1.How was Whitson’s this-year trip different from his previous trip?
A.It involved more people.
B.It presented more threats.
C.It included more activities.
D.It progressed more steadily.
2.Which of Whitson’s attempted approaches worked?
A.Throwing a stick tied with a rope.
B.Yelling to the people across the fall.
C.Using an SOS bottle to send messages.
D.Bringing a pen and paper to play games.
3.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 7 mean?
A.It was a wild attempt.
B.It was a great danger.
C.It was a fantastic idea.
D.It was a real inspiration.
4.Why did Whitson place a headlamp with a flashing light on a ledge?
A.To enable his family to fall fast asleep.
B.To frighten the mountain animals away.
C.To increase the chance of being rescued.
D.To keep warm at night in the deep mountain.
5.Why did the crew delay rescuing till the next morning?
A.They were running out of oil.
B.They conserved little firewood.
C.They found no place to land safe.
D.They were caught in a snowstorm.
6.Who picked up the bottle from the water?
A.Two little girls.
B.Two men hikers.
C.A helicopter pilot.
D.The officers on duty.
