听力题此题为音频题
听力题此题为音频题
听力题此题为音频题
听力题此题为音频题
听力题Questions 22 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard
听力题此题为音频题
单选题此题为音频题
单选题此题为音频题
单选题From climate change to the ongoing pandemic (大流行病) and beyond, the issues facing today’s world are increasingly complex and dynamic. Yet solving problems like these requires new approaches that extend beyond traditional ways of thinking. A study led by Yale Professor of Psychology, Paul O’Keefe, found that having a growth mindset (思维倾向) of interest may spark this type of innovation. Professor O’Keefe established in earlier studies that people hold different beliefs about the nature of interest. Those with a growth mindset of interest tend to believe that interests can be developed and cultivated, while those with a fixed mindset of interest tend to believe that interests are inherent (与生俱有的) and simply need to be ’found. ’ Building on these findings, the latest research examined how a growth mindset of interest can boost integrative thinking across the traditional disciplinary boundaries of arts and sciences. For example, in one task, research participants were instructed to create new college majors by combining two or more existing academic Arts or Science programs at their university. After coding and analyzing the ideas they generated, the team found that people with a growth mindset of interest were more likely to bridge programs across the arts and sciences to create new majors like computational economics rather than creating majors that drew from only one of those areas, like computational chemistry. As Professor O’Keefe pointed out, "This research provides a useful direction for organizations whose products and services call for integrated and creative solutions. Take smartphones for example. You need not only computer science and engineering knowledge, but also an understanding of psychology and visual design to create a better product. Employees with a growth mindset may be more likely to devise innovative ideas that bridge multiple areas of knowledge to achieve better solutions." The benefits of a growth mindset of interest may also extend to those seeking employment. This is a pressing issue because many people are becoming unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Having a growth mindset of interest can help job seekers expand their interests and become more adaptable to different fields, and take the initiative to learn new skills.
单选题此题为音频题
单选题此题为音频题
单选题As many office workers adapt to remote work, cities may undergo fundamental change if offices remain under-utilized. Who will benefit if working from home becomes the norm? Employers argue they make considerable savings on real estate when workers shift from office to home work. However, these savings result from passing costs on to workers. Unless employees are fully compensated, this could become a variant of parasitic (寄生的) capitalism, whereby corporate profits increasingly rely on extracting value from the public—and now personal—realm, rather than on generating new value. Though employers are backed by a chorus of remote work advocates, others note the loneliness, reduced productivity and inefficiencies of extended remote work. If working from home becomes permanent, employees will have to dedicate part of their private space to work. This requires purchasing desks, chairs and office equipment. It also means having private space dedicated to work: the space must be heated, cleaned, maintained and paid for. That depends on many things, but for purposes of illustration, I have run some estimates for Montreal. The exercise is simple but important, since it brings these costs out of the realm of speculation into the realm of meaningful discussion. Rough calculations show that the savings made by employers when their staff works from home are of similar value to the compensation workers should receive for setting up offices at home. What does this mean for offices in cities? One of two things may happen: Employers pass these costs onto employees. This would be a form of expropriation (侵占), with employees absorbing production costs that have traditionally been paid by the employer. This represents a considerable transfer of value from employees to employers. When employees are properly compensated, employers’ real estate savings will be modest. If savings are modest, then the many advantages of working in offices—such as lively atmosphere, rapidity of communication, team-building and acclimatization (适应环境) of new employees—will encourage employers to shelve the idea of remote work and, like Yahoo in 2013, encourage employees to work most of the time from corporate office space.
单选题此题为音频题
单选题此题为音频题
单选题此题为音频题
单选题此题为音频题
单选题此题为音频题
写作题Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a letter to a foreign friend who wants to learn Chinese
问答题Why it matters that teens are reading lessA) Most of us spend much more time with digital media than we did a decade ago. But today’s teens have grown up with smartphones. Compared with teens a couple of decades ago, the way they interact with traditional media like books and movies is fundamentally different.B) Analysis of surveys of over one million teens in the United States collected since 1976 reveals a major shift in how teens are spending their leisure time. Paper books are being ignored, in favor of screens. Digital devices are changing other behaviors, too. More and more, young people choose spending time on their electronic devices over engaging in other activities, regardless of the type. Indeed, by 2016, the average American high school senior said they spent six hours a day writing text messages, on social media, and online during their free time. And that covers just three activities, and if other digital media activities were included, that estimate would no doubt rise.C) Teens did not always spend that much time with digital media. Online time has doubled since 2006, and social media use has moved from a periodic activity to a daily one in the same period. By 2016, nearly nine out of ten young women in the 12th grade said they visited social media sites every day. Meanwhile, time spent playing video games rose from under an hour a day to an hour and a half on average. One out of ten American 8th grade students in 2016 spent 40 hours a week or more playing video games. Let me emphasize that this is equal to the time most adults spend per week at work.D) If teens are spending so much time using electronic devices, does that mean they have to give up some other activities? Maybe not. Over the years, many scholars have insisted that time online does not necessarily take away time spent engaging with traditional media or on other activities. Some people, they argue, are just more interested in certain kinds of media and entertainment. Thus, using more of one type of media does not necessarily mean less of the other.E) That may be true, but that still does not tell us much about what happens across a whole generation of people when time spent on digital media grows. Large surveys conducted over the course of many years tell us that American youth are not going to the cinema nearly as often as they did in the past. While 70 percent of 8th and 10th grade students used to go to the movies once a month or more, now only about half do this. More and more, watching a movie is something teens choose to do on their electronic devices. Why is this a problem? One reason is that going to the cinema is generally a social activity. Now, watching movies is something that most teens do alone. This fits a larger pattern. In another analysis, researchers found that today’s teens go out with their friends much less often than previous generations did.F) But the trends related to movies are less disturbing compared with the change in how teens spend their time. Research has revealed an enormous decline in reading. In 1980, about 60 percent of senior high school students said they read a book, newspaper or magazine every day that was not assigned for school. By 2016, only 16 percent did. This is a huge drop and it is important to note that this was not merely a decline in reading paper books, newspapers or magazines. The survey allowed for reading materials on a digital device.G) Indeed, the number of senior high school students who said they had not read any books for pleasure in the last year was one out of three by 2016. That is triple the number from two decades ago. For today’s youth, books, newspapers and magazines have less and less of a presence in their daily lives. Of course, teens are still reading. But they are generally reading short texts. Most of them are not reading long articles or books that explore deep themes and require critical thinking and reflection. Perhaps not accidentally, in 2016 reading scores were the lowest they have ever been since 1972.H) This might present problems for young people later on. When high school students go on to college, their past and current reading habits will influence their academic performance. Imagine going from reading texts as short as one or two sentences to trying to read entire books written in complex language and containing sophisticated ideas. Reading and comprehending longer books and chapters takes practice, and American teens are no longer getting that practice.I) So how can this problem be solved? Should parents and teachers take away teens’ smartphones and replace them with paper books? Probably not. Research has shown that smartphones are currently American teens’ main form of social communication. This means that, without a smartphone, teens are likely to feel isolated from their peers. However, that does not mean teens need to use electronic devices as often as they do now. Data connecting excessive digital media time to mental health issues suggests a limit of two hours a day of free time spent with screens, a restriction that will also allow time for other activities—like going to the movies with friends or reading longer, more complicated texts.J) The latter is especially important. I would argue that of all the changes brought about by the widespread use of digital devices, the huge decline in reading is likely to have the biggest negative impact on today’s teens because reading books and longer articles is one of the best ways to learn critical thinking. It helps people to understand complex issues and to separate fact from fiction. Thus, deep reading is crucial for being a good citizen, a successful college student and a productive employee. If serious reading dies, a lot will go with it.
问答题How to not be boringA) Humans are creatures of habit. We love to establish a routine and stick with it. Then we often put ourselves on auto-pilot. Routines can be incredibly useful in helping you get things done. However, too much of a routine can also make you incredibly boring. Nevertheless, many people live lives that are boringly predictable, or live a life where everything is outlined or planned.B) To tell the truth, interesting people are more popular among their friends. If you don’t arouse someone’s curiosity or brighten someone’s day, you probably come across as being a little bit dull. But that doesn’t mean your life has ended and you can’t do anything to change it. If you find yourself searching for something to say beyond small talk, try these tactics to find more interesting approaches to conversation.C) Recently, I was at a gathering of colleagues when someone turned to me and asked, "So, what’s new with you?" Ordinarily, I think I’m a good conversationalist. After all, it’s literally my job to talk to people and tell their stories or share their advice. And that’s not exactly an unexpected question. Still, the only "new-to-me" topics that came to mind were my daughter’s basketball tournament (锦标赛) and my feelings about that morning’s political headlines—neither amusing nor appropriate topics at that moment.D) Oh, no, I thought. Have I become boring? But sharing our experiences in an authentic way to connect with other people is what makes us interesting, says associate professor Michael Pirson. The hesitation I felt in not sharing the ordinary things that were happening in my life, and the wild mental search for something more interesting, may have backfired and made me seem less interesting.E) "If someone is making up some conversation that might be interesting, it’s probably not going to land well," says Pirson, whose expertise includes trust and well-being, mindfulness, and humanistic management. "It’s going to feel like a made-up conversation that people don’t necessarily want to tune in to."F) The most interesting people aren’t those who’ve gone on some Eat, Pray, Love journey to find themselves. Instead, Pirson says, they’re those who examine the ordinary. "Often, the ’boring things’ may not be boring at all. Maybe they are actually little miracles," he says. Share your observations about the world around you—interesting stories you heard or things you noticed—and you may be surprised by the universal connection they inspire.G) This is essentially how Jessica Hagy starts her day. The author of How to Be Interesting-. An Instruction Manual, Hagy spends a lot of time thinking about what’s interesting to her. People who are interesting are persistently curious, she says.H) Think about the everyday things around you and ask questions about them. What is that roadside monument I see on my way to work every day? Who built that interesting building in my city? What nearby attractions haven’t I visited? Why do people do things that way? Use what you find to ask more questions and learn more about the world around you. "Having that sort of curiosity is almost like a protective gear from getting into boredom," she says. And when you find things that are truly interesting to you, share them.I) Television veteran Audrey Morrissey, executive producer of NBC’s The Voice, is always looking for what will make a person or story interesting to viewers: It’s usually a matter of individuality. "Having a strong point of view, signature style, or being a super-enthusiast in a particular field makes someone interesting," she says. That means embracing what is truly interesting or unique about yourself. "Many people are ’ not boring’ in the way that they can carry a conversation or can be good at a social gathering, etc. To be interesting means that you have lived life, taken risks, traveled, sought out experience to learn for yourself and share with others," she says.J) Of course, it’s possible to be a fountain of knowledge and a boring person, says public relations consultant Andrea Pass. Paying attention to the listener is an important part of having a conversation that’s interesting to both parties. Talking on and on about what’s interesting to you isn’t going to make you an interesting person, she says.K) "If the listener is not paying attention, it’s your sign to shorten the story or change direction. Make sure to bring the audience into the conversation so that it is not one-sided," Pass says. Be a better listener yourself, and give others opportunities to participate in the conversation by inviting them with questions or requests to share their own experiences or thoughts, (e. g. , "Now, tell me about your favorite book," or "Have you ever been to that attraction?") Questions are a powerful tool, especially when they encourage others to disclose information about themselves. A 2012 study from the University of California, Santa Barbara, found that roughly 40% of the time we are talking, we’re disclosing subjective information about our experience. And when we’re doing so, our brains are more engaged. So one strategy to leave others with the impression that you’re a sparkling conversation partner is to get others to talk about themselves.L) Being relatable is also essential, Morrissey says. "The best entertainment and storytelling comes from people who are relatable—those who don’t shy away from opening up but freely share who they are and what they care about. These are the people viewers most relate to and find interesting. Being authentic, honest, and vulnerable is always interesting."M) I have now come to realize that being boring, in actuality, is not only about who you are as a person, but also how you present yourself. No matter what, make sure you are having fun in life. Because when you are enjoying, people around you will begin to enjoy as well. Show some interest in them and they will definitely show some in you. If you are a very reserved person, this could be a little difficult at first. But with a little effort, you can definitely improve.