I was seven when I first questioned my imagination. I remember watching the first Harry Potter film and my friend was complaining that the characters weren't how she imagined them to be. I couldn't understand what she meant because, in my mind, they had never been images at all, just concepts. When l shut my eyes, I see nothing. I have no visual imagination.
I thought everyone's minds worked this way until about two years ago, when I came across a text about aphantasia, a condition where you lack a functioning mind's eye. I was 23, and it blew my mind to learn that others could visualize things. It was clear I had aphantasia, too, and a lot of things started to make more sense. For me, imagination had always been impossible. If someone asked me to close my eyes and picture myself by the sea, I would see nothing.
I am currently studying for a PhD in biology at college. A good little test for me is drawing. I can copy things almost like for like if they are in front of me, but if I were to draw from my imagination it would look terrible. It doesn't mean you cannot be creative; you just have to adapt. Regardless of how many times I read a technique, it didn't make sense. But when I came to do it in the lab, I understood it immediately. If you have a visual imagination, you can look at a diagram and it triggers your memory; but I learn by repetition or physically doing something.
I'd love to experience life with a mind's eye. I think it'd be cool and beneficial to imagine things so vividly. If you offered me a day with a visual imagination, I'd be excited. I think it'd be so brilliant that I wouldn't want to give it back.
1.After watching the first Harry Potter film, the author ______.
A.misunderstood what her friend said
B.became a huge fan of the Harry Potter film
C.found it impossible to picture its characters in her mind
D.complained its characters different from what she imagined
2.How did the author know she had aphantasia?
A.Her friend told her the fact.
B.She read about aphantasia.
C.She had a medical examination.
D.Her life experience made it clear.
3.What can we learn about the author?
A.She lacks creativity.
B.She always draws terribly.
C.She learns by hands-on practice.
D.She gets benefit from techniques.
4.What is the author's attitude towards her disability?
A.Uncertain. B.Uncaring. C.Upset. D.Positive.
Four things that you can't miss in Macao.
Macao Tower AJ Hackett Bungee Jump
The Macao Tower, 338 meters tall, is the world's 10th highest tower, with a variety of activities, such as gambling, eating and entertainment. One of the acclaimed activities is the bungee jump. The AJ Hackett Macao Tower Bungee Jump is 233 meters high, making it the highest commercial bungee jump in the world. Raise your arms and off you go! If you are not daring enough to jump that height, you can try the skywalk on the 57th floor --- it's still remarkable.
Grabbing a traditional Portuguese dinner
Macao was colonized by Portugal before 1999. As a result, Portuguese culture is deeply immersed into many comers of Macao. Many Portuguese settled and opened Portuguese restaurants in the special administrative region, but the flavor is more adaptable to Chinese people.
Marking at the Ruins of St. Paul
The Ruins of St. Paul is the signature landmark of Macao. The ruins consist of the St. Paul's College and the Church of St. Paul, built in 1583. However, after three intense fires in 1595, 1601 and 1835, the church was seriously damaged. It is beyond belief that after the vigorous cycles of rebuilding and fires, the huge surface and the front stairway remain unburned.
Visiting a museum
Macao, as a tiny city with only an area of 30.5 square kilometers, has 23 eye-catching museums. Due to its unique history, both Eastern and Western historical sites can be found. Many of them are preserved for cultural heritage, tourist spots or museums, such as the Grand Prix Museum, Maritime Museum and Wine Museum.
1.Which activity will be popular with adventurous visitors?
A.Going Bungee Jumping.
B.Grabbing a traditional Portuguese dinner.
C.Marking at the Ruins of St. Paul.
D.Visiting a museum.
2.What is incredible about the Ruins of St. Paul?
A.It has a unique culture.
B.It serves as a symbol of Macao.
C.It partly stays undamaged after fierce fires.
D.It is a combination of a college and a church.
3.What do "'Grabbing a traditional Portuguese dinner" and "Visiting a museum" have in common?
A.Taking a selfie in it.
B.Finding historical sites.
C.Enjoying a breathtaking experience.
D.Feeling both eastern and western cultures.
请阅读下面文字，并按照要求用英语写一篇150词左右的文章。
A video showing a traffic police officer pretending to be blind being denied permission to get on a bus with a guide dog has been drawing public attention and has led to heated online discussions about the lack of support and care for the visually impaired(视觉障碍人士). As shown in the video, wearing a blindfold, the officer wasn't allowed on the bus with the guide dog, and was told no dogs are allowed whether they're guide dogs or not. Some passengers also scolded the officer for making a scene and wasting their time, while the dog appeared very distressed.
The guide dog's owner Gao Zhipeng, who is visually impaired, told media Monday that this has been happening almost every day since he brought Taobao home in 2014，and it is the same when catching a cab. And each time they were refused, Taobao would sink into depression for days.
The guide dog being denied boarding is just the tip of the iceberg, compared to the various difficulties faced by the country's visually impaired population every day when they leave their home.
（写作内容）
1. 用约30个单词概述上述信息的主要内容；2. 用约120个单词发表你的观点，内容包括：(1) 表达你对此事件的看法，并说明理由；(2) 关于如何帮助视觉障碍人士，请你提出2～3个建议。
（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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请认真阅读下面短文，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。
Make the most of networking opportunities
Get to those networking events and talk, talk, talk. “There is value in every conversation you have, you never know where your next piece of work may come from. Changing the mindset to professionalism and saying, ‘I am a graphic designer’ rather than ‘I am a graduate’ is very important, ” says Lydia Wakefield, education and training manager at the Association of Independent Professionals and the SelfEmployed.
Know your worth
It's hard to persuade people to pay for your work if you're willing to give it away. “Value your worth from the beginning. A lot of people feel the pressure to work nothing or charge a really low rate if they've been studying. Clients are willing to pay for the quality of the work that you do, ” says Wakefield.
Set up with the tools to get paid
Register for selfassessment and file those tax returns. “Make sure you have contracts and invoice templates(发票模板) in place, ” says Wakefield. It doesn't hurt to get some advice from a professional, says Jeff Skinner, of the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the London Business School. “Find an accountant or someone doing something similar and ask them for commercial advice, ” he says.
Manage expectations
Know the limits to your capabilities. “You can feel the need to say yes to every project. Have a selfawareness of how much work you can take on at any time and manage expectations, ” says Wakefield.
Build resilience (韧性)
Wakefield highlights the importance of having a thick skin. “If you get a no, don't take it to heart. Keep going, you will find your next client, ” she says, “ask for feedback, you can always use it for testimonial.” And, remember that you're not alone. “It really is emotional highs and lows for any entrepreneur in early stages. But you're in a network with other people on the same journey as you, ” says Skinner.
Tips for New Graduates Who Want to Be Their Own 1.
Take 2. of networking opportunities | ●Every conversation is valuable as it may 3. to your next piece of work. ●It matters a lot to change the 4. you think of professionalism. |
Know your worth | ●If you cannot 5. your own value, how can you expect others to pay for your work? ●You can charge a relatively 6. rate for your work of good quality. |
Set up with the tools to get paid | ●Register for selfassessment and file those tax returns. ●It is always helpful to consult 7.. |
Manage expectations | ●Be aware not to take on too much work 8. your capabilities. |
Build resilience | ●Keep going instead of taking a refusal too 9.． ●It is not 10. for entrepreneurs to experience emotional highs and lows in early stages. |
I am a parent of a disabled teenager. My son is in and out of hospital and school. His learning disabilities and behaviour issues are a barrier for him, and he is teased on campus. At home, he swears and punches me.
He is on a waiting list for his disorder which contributes to his anxiety. Meanwhile, there are hospital appointments to manage, at least four consultants on the go, and an imminent transfer to adult services. The bureaucracy of caring keeps me busy.
I used to work in the theatre industry but had to quit when my son kept getting excluded from school. I never expected that my life would turn out like this. But now, amazingly, I am doing a PhD at a Russell Group university，looking at nonwhite protagonists in historical drama. It is fascinating: underrepresented characters!Hidden histories! Diversity!
I am starting to win awards for my research and I feel like a success story. Almost. There's just one problem: I can't get funding. I keep missing out on studentships and scholarships. These awards—which are mainly funded by research councils or universities directly—are worth about ￡14，000－￡16，000 a year and usually include a fee waiver (saving a further ￡5，000). That's a lot of money.
But the funding tends to go to students half my age with straightA academic results—not to people like me, who have taken an unusual path to academia. When I was turned down for the last studentship I applied for, I asked why. The decision maker—a professor in my department and the head of a research institute—told me “it all comes down to excellent academic results”．
They don't say this on the application forms: it's all about the originality of your project, your research statement, your supervisor's supporting statement, the panel that considers you, the level of competition. But when it comes down to it, this is clearly what they want. Someone with my background is never going to get a studentship if the decisive criteria are undergraduate and master's results.
When I started my PhD and realised that I would need financial help, I went to the student advice office and told them that I am a carer. They asked what that meant and then offered me advice on benefits, but not funding. I went to the student union advice service—they referred me back to student advice. I went to the graduate school. Same response. I spoke to a vice dean and a chaplain. I had to tell them what a carer is. You get the picture. I was invisible. So I gave up, decided to apply annually for the studentships and kept my parttime job.
UCAS announced this year that young carers will now be able to identify themselves in their applications, so that universities will be able to support them. But how is this going to happen if staff at these institutions don't even know what a carer is?
The student welfare vicepresident at the union has finally agreed with me that carers are an undersupported and underrepresented group on campus. We are going to ask student records to add an option to the equality and diversity monitoring section, so that we can identify as carers and hopefully raise awareness. Wish us luck.
1.Put the following events in the correct order.
a. The author won awards for her research.
b. The author spoke to a vice dean and a chaplain.
c. The author decided to apply annually for studentships.
d. The author started her PhD.
A.dabc B.dcba
C.cdab D.cdba
2.According to the decision maker，the writer's application for funding was turned down mainly because ________．
A.she has a disabled son B.her academic results were not good enough
C.the bureaucracy of caring kept her busy D.the competition was too fierce
3.It can be inferred from the passage that ________．
A.the writer likes reading success stories
B.the writer is a nonwhite woman
C.carers deserve our attention and help
D.carers are favored in the process of application and enrollment
4.According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.Only undergraduates and masters can get the studentship.
B.In spite of her son's illness, the writer continued to work to feed her family.
C.The writer shows great interest and enthusiasm in her academic research.
D.The writer's disabled son does not respect his mother.
5.The writer's purpose is mainly to ________．
A.call on more people to care about disabled teenagers
B.complain about the barriers she met in getting funding
C.inform the readers of a carer's difficulties
D.give advice on how to get a studentship
Are you aware that every single person on this planet who has ever lived, lives now or will live, has a different perception of reality? The way each of us perceives the world is to some degree different than any other person's perception of reality. __①__ What is absolutely real and right for you may be an illusion, or nonexistent, or completely false for another!
It's important to know this. __②__ For example, the news media loves to create drama, and one of their favorite methods is to elicit(引起) fear: fear of other people, fear of the weather, fear of the economy, etc. The news media tells us how to perceive the world—and if a person takes the newscasters at their word, they perceive the world to be very dangerous and hostile. To that person，the mental images and emotions suggested by other people create a version of reality that is completely different from the reality perceived by someone who does not watch the news.
Things are not always what they seem. For most people, seeing is believing, which is why magicians, artists and marketers are so successful. Just like the TV news, they show you only what they want you to see and it is perceived as reality. But how would that reality change if you saw what went on behind the scenes or what was left out?
What's your story?
We all have a story. Over time, your story takes on a life of its own and you become your story. But who's the author and why did him put so much crap in there? All that unnecessary suffering, struggle, heartache, worry and pain... wouldn't it be better to live a story without all that? Who wants to live in a story with that much boredom and unfulfilled longings?
The story got its start when you were born, and was coauthored by you along with the influences in your life. __③__ Anytime you were influenced by someone or something, you unconsciously handed your pen over and said “Here, you write this about me.” So you are not even writing your OWN story! No one does—until they recognize that fact, and make a conscious decision to take control of the pen. You CAN write your story the way you want it to play out.
________________
It is helpful to understand how the brain takes reality and filters it to create your unique perception of reality. It's an automatic unconscious action that is based on：
● Physical experiences (which is why some optical illusions are extremely unsettling)
● Past conditioning (how you are programmed to see the world)
__④__ When you become aware of the fact that you are constructing your own reality, you can take charge and build one that is more pleasing. If you change your mind, your vibration and your intentions, you can change your circumstances! Instead of, “I am a victim of circumstance，” imprint in your mind, “I am the cocreator of my life”； Instead of, “I am sick and tired of...” imprint in your mind，“I am in control and enthusiastic about what I do”．
Raise your vibration by thinking, talking and acting more positively. As positiveness becomes a mental habit，that change will become your new inner reality, which will soon manifest in your outer reality.
The power of perception is immense. Choose to see more good than bad, more abundance than lack, more love than indifference and more success than struggle.
1.How does the author present his viewpoints in the first three paragraphs?
A.By answering questions. B.By giving examples.
C.By making comparisons. D.By drawing conclusions.
2.The sentence “Because if you are not aware, your perception, world view and reality are created by other people.” should be put in ________．
A.① B.② C.③ D.④
3.Which of the following subtitles can be filled in the blank?
A.Seeing is not believing
B.Live up to your expectations
C.Change your perception and create a new reality
D.Physical experiences and past conditioning really count
4.What is the tone of the passage?
A.Instructive. B.Humorous.
C.Critical. D.Ironic.
