My grandparents were always busy with food. My grandmother could pull out the feathers of a chicken in less than half an hour. They picked vegetables from their garden. Animal fat was saved.
It took hours and made my fingers hurt. After an adult life spent buying rather than growing food, as a so-called new farmer, I finally began to understand my grandparents.
My grandparents’ generation spent a third of their income on food.
But until I began talking to the farmers around me, I had not understood the human costs faced by those asked to produce milk sold for less than bottled water.
Research has found that regenerative farming not only benefits the land, but profits can be 78% higher than conventional farms.
| A．We spend less than a tenth. |
| B．And any leftover meat was cut up for pies. |
| C．Regenerative farming is welcomed by thousands of farmers now. |
| D．I began to understand the work that we took for granted. |
| E．I realized that keeping a big family was really a big burden for them. |
| F．New technology helped these farmers raise a diversity of crops and farm animals. |
| G．Then I came across a farming reform that sought to change this traditional system. |
Worth nearly $1trn, Facebook is the world’s sixth-most-valuable company. Its revenues have grown by 56% in the past year, and its share price by more than a quarter. Nearly 3bn people use its products every month. Why did such a successful company change its name as Meta?
The likely official reason for the rebranding is that the firm has outgrown the social network that Mark Zuckerberg started 17 years ago in a Harvard dorm. Today it includes other social apps (Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger) and video hardware (Oculus, Portal). It has launched a digital wallet (Novi) and may yet offer a currency (Diem). Mr Zuckerberg expects people eventually to associate his firm more with the “metaverse”(元字宙), a virtual space for work, play and more, than with social media.
Facebook wouldn’t be the first tech giant to do so. In 2015 Google set up Alphabet, a holding company for the search engine and its many side projects. Under this model, Facebook would become just another app within a wider family, though by far it has been the biggest earner.
There is another possible motive for a makeover. For all its financial success, the Facebook brand has become tarnished. The social network is blamed for fueling everything from teenage anorexia(厌食症) to uprising at the US Capitol. Public trust in it is lower than in most tech giants, and falling. Although two years ago the firm started branding its apps as being “from Facebook”, its new smart glasses, which can record video and take phone calls, feature only the logo of its partner, Ray-Ban. A former employee revealed that Facebook was trying to cover up a drop in young American users.
Mr Zuckerberg himself has been a reason for much of the criticism of Facebook, and of bossy tech firms more generally. As the all-powerful founder, he has a higher profile than his opposite numbers at TikTok, YouTube and other social networks. Normally, a brand facing a reputational crisis might dump its unpopular CEO. But Mr Zuckerberg’s position is immovable, which may explain why he would want to dump the brand instead.
1．Facebook changed its name because________.| A．it wanted people to associate its name with universe |
| B．it was trying to follow the fashion led by Google |
| C．it expected to expand its business to a wider range |
| D．its former name has brought bad reputation to the company |
| A．It was founded by Zuckerberg in Harvard’s dormitory. |
| B．It has a positive influence on teenagers’ mind and actions. |
| C．It is as popular among young people in the US as it was. |
| D．It produced smart glasses with two companies’ logos on it. |
| A．distinguished | B．abandoned | C．globalized | D．spoiled |
| A．a science review | B．a business magazine |
| C．a technical report | D．the website of Facebook |
When I was in middle school, my family moved to Seattle, where my parents started their new business — a small grocery store downstairs my house. As a girl of shy and reserved nature, I had to take a fresh start to fit into the city life.
One sunny day, my school announced an exciting event, a talent show for the local food bank. Students were encouraged to showcase their unique talents in front of the public in the city hall on National Day. A buzz of excitement filled the school as everyone began preparing for the big day. Deep down, I felt a spark of curiosity and a desire to participate. However, my self-doubt held me back, “I don’t have any special skills to share.”
Days turned into weeks, and the talent show drew closer. I couldn’t shake the upsetting feeling until one day Emma, one of the most popular girls in my class, came to me while I was helping in the grocery store after class. “How about singing together in the talent show?” She grinned (笑), “I heard you singing a tune, along the way back home. I can’t help following you here.” Gosh, I couldn’t believe my ears. Emma, with personality and popularity, acknowledged my little talent. Since Emma had the world’s prettiest voice, I felt like being favoured by fortune.
“You two? The talent show for the food bank?” My mum bent towards us and her face lit up. “A big occasion.” Then a light bulb seemed to go in her head. “Why not practise right now upstairs? I bet you’ll be a perfect match.” Winking at us, she seemed to know we were thinking alike.
Emma and I embarked on rehearsing (排练) almost every single day after school. We brainstormed, exchanged ideas and rehearsed the scene. As the days rolled by, I was feeling pretty good about our act. But the day before the performance, Emma called that she had an acute stomachache and was not in any shape to perform.
I was completely shocked by the news.
Finally came the big moment.
Have you heard of the save soil movement? It was
The efforts of Sadhguru have
The movement aims to
The main motive of the campaign was to bring together people from all around the world to protect the soil’s health. Sadhguru has become
Sadhguru is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide to Joy. He has been a(n)
| A．launched | B．sponsored | C．experienced | D．commanded |
| A．resulted in | B．originated from | C．paid back | D．reacted to |
| A．airports | B．companies | C．conferences | D．locations |
| A．abilities | B．struggles | C．characters | D．requests |
| A．transform | B．address | C．drag | D．confirm |
| A．messages | B．responses | C．proposals | D．positions |
| A．exhausted | B．ambitious | C．successful | D．confident |
| A．improvement | B．awareness | C．imagination | D．standard |
| A．locally | B．individually | C．nationally | D．globally |
| A．urging | B．requiring | C．cheering | D．permitting |
| A．stable | B．ongoing | C．favorable | D．temporary |
| A．However | B．Besides | C．Therefore | D．Meanwhile |
| A．ensure | B．bring | C．affect | D．define |
| A．strong | B．pleasant | C．determined | D．influential |
| A．circumstance | B．lifestyle | C．atmosphere | D．soil |
Okay. I’ll admit it. I can be a complainer. After all, there’s so much in this life to complain about: the dirty clothes that don’t make it into the basket, that annoying neighbor’s loud music, my husband’s shoes left casually at the front door, rainy days, traffic…
Complaining is a habit I have developed since childhood, and a skill I have honed (磨练) through the years. My family didn’t seem to mind — they were great complainers, too — though I do recall some eye-rolling and long-drawn sighs from friends and schoolmates when I would voice my negative opinions. In fact, I can distinctly recall the exact moment when I first realized my complaining habit reached its expert level.
One day, as I reminded my husband once again to remove his bills from the dining-room table, put his shoes away, and lower that dog-gone radio, he put up his hand. “Stop! Stop your complaining. It’s driving me crazy.”
I looked at him blank-eyed.
He took a deep breath. “You never hear me complaining, do you?”
“Well,” I answered, “you’re complaining about my complaining, so actually, yes, I am hearing you complain right now.”
His eyes widened. Sweat formed on his upper lip. Then he grabbed his car keys and ran out the door.
Perhaps I’d gone too far, I thought. Maybe I really did complain too much. But, what to do about it? After all, it had been a lifetime habit. And habits are hard to break.
When it came to imaging the future, Arthur C. Clarke stubbornly refused to take credit for any predictions. The Internet, 3-D printers, email: he may have described them all long before they existed. As a science fiction writer, he came up with the idea of a “personal transceiver” that is small enough to be carried about, able to contact with anyone in the world and perform global positioning, making getting lost a thing of the past. Elsewhere, he predicted everything from online banking to reusable spacecraft. His best remembered fictional work of all is 2001: A Space Odyssey. It also happened to forecast the iPad, computer software that is able to read lips, and space stations.
Interestingly, his vision of the future has barely aged. For example, life in Sri Lanka inspired his 1979 novel, featuring a “space elevator”, a planet-to-space transportation system that would do away with the need for rocket travel. Those human settlements on Mars or Venus are decidedly behind schedule(we humans were expected to have set foot on both by 1980), and we’re still looking for the key that should have fully unlocked the languages of whales and dolphins by 1970.
It’s a way of thinking that was likely fuelled by his inability to be anything other than utterly absorbed in all that interested him. At the very start of his career, he shared a flat on London’s Gray’s Inn Road with fellow science fiction writers who nicknamed him “Ego” because of his talent for turning out (关掉) distraction. Once he’d become a big enough name to be interviewed, he’d send journalists home loaded with research papers.
He once said, “Trying to predict the future is a discouraging and risky occupation.” If a prediction sounds at all reasonable, technological progress is sure to leave it seeming “ridiculously conservative”. But if, by a miracle, a person were to be able to describe the future exactly as it will unfold, “His predictions will sound so absurd and far-fetched that everybody would laugh him to scorn (轻蔑).”
1．What can we infer from the first paragraph?| A．Clarke is an imaginative science fiction writer. | B．Clarke is crazy about the future devices. |
| C．Clarke is expert at telling one’s fortune. | D．Clarke is a rarely talented inventor. |
| A．there is no need for rocket travel in future |
| B．unlocking the languages of animals is ahead of time |
| C．humans were expecting to settle on Mars by 1980 |
| D．Clarke’s predictions still seem impossibly distant |
| A．He could focus all his mind on something. | B．He cared more about himself than others. |
| C．He was absorbed in what interested him. | D．He was proud of being a big name. |
| A．The rapid progress of technology. | B．The absurdness of some predictions. |
| C．The difficulty of predicting the future. | D．The miracle of dependable predictions. |
Colin Chapman, the founder of Lotus Cars, was once of motor racing’s most influential engineers. Between 1962 and 1978 Lotus won seven Formula One constructors championships. He summed up his philosophy as “simplify, then add lightness”. It appears to be an uncommon insight. A paper published in Nature suggests that humans struggle with subtractive(减法的) thinking. When asked to improve something, they tend to suggest adding new things rather than removing what is already there, even when additions lead to subpar(低于标准的) results.
The research was motivated by everyday observation rather than psychological theory, says Gabrielle Adams, the paper’s first author, who cites folk wisdom such as “less is more” and “keep it simple”. Perhaps the need for such reminders was evidence of a blind spot in people’s thinking?
Along with colleagues at the University of Virginia, Dr. Adams conducted a series of observational studies. In one, when participants were asked to alter an essay they had written, 16% cut words while 80% added them. Others gave similar results. Of 827 suggestions received by the new boss of an American university for how the institution could be improved, 581 involved adding new things and just 70 suggested removing something.
Having established that addition does indeed seem to be more popular than subtraction, the next step was to work out why. One possibility was that people were considering subtractive options, but deliberately choosing not to pursue them. Another was that they were not even thinking of them in the first place.
Let’s enter a new set of experiments. One experiment asked participants to redesign a lopsided(不平衡的) Lego structure so that it could support a house-brick. Participants could earn a dollar for fixing the problem, but each piece of Lego they added cut that reward by ten cents. Even then, only 41% worked out that simplifying the structure by removing a single block, rather than strengthening it by adding more, which was the way to maximise the payout. Another example, asking people to make a golf course worse rather than better did not change their preference for additions, which suggested that many were simply not thinking of the possibility, at least at first.
What all this amounts to, says Benjamin Converse, another of the study’s authors, is evidence for a new entry in the list of “cognitive biases” that skew(歪曲) how humans think. Instead of thinking a problem through and coming up with an ideal solution, they tend to use cognitive shortcuts that are fast and mostly “good enough” in their mind.
Such research has inspired an entire field dedicated to working out when such shortcuts lead people astray(迷失). Dr. Adams and her colleagues, meanwhile, are keen to investigate their result thoroughly. One question is whether the preference for addition is inborn or learned.
1．Why does the author mention the story of Colin Chapman?| A．To provide evidence. |
| B．To highlight the experience. |
| C．To present background information. |
| D．To introduce the topic of the passage. |
| A．People prefer additions to subtractions in most situations |
| B．The philosophy “less is more” is well-received for long. |
| C．Strengthening the structure is the way to maximize the payout. |
| D．People tend to use shortcuts and come up with ideal solutions. |
| A．A way that people automatically think. |
| B．A fact that people routinely forget. |
| C．A view that shortcuts are good enough. |
| D．A point that addition is always better. |
| A．The benefits of subtractions for people. |
| B．The ways of changing how people think. |
| C．The details of the preference for addition. |
| D．The influence of cognitive biases on people. |
Nick was new, so he didn’t have many friends. One day the headmaster announced that it was the basketball season, so they needed to practice after school till 6. Nick smiled. He loved playing basketball.
Later that day it was time to go to the first practice of the season. There were other guys and they all sat together talking, but Nick just sat there and waited. “Alright boys! Line up and tell me your names,” the coach demanded. “Ricky, Derick, Josh, Dan, Nick.” they answered, one after another. Practice went on and the coach began to try out the boys. Ricky and his friends did really good. But the coach ran out of time before he could try out Nick.
The next day, Ricky and his friends came up to Nick and told him he wasn’t good enough though they had never seen him play. Nick said nothing. Soon enough it was time for Nick to try out. “We will start with free throws(自由投篮，即罚球),” the coach said. Nick stood on the free throw line and then shot. He didn’t miss one shot. The boys were amazed. Ricky was mad because they were all giving the attention to Nick. The coach informed Nick that he made the team. All the boys were congratulating him.
Nick was happy that he was on the team and it was a good way to make friends. Ricky just stood there and looked at him in anger. Ricky always got the attention but now Nick did because he’s an amazing player. The next day when Nick went to lunch, he sat by himself and the next thing he knew was that the table he was sitting at was filled with all the basketball players except Ricky.
Soon enough it was time for their first game. The game was a close one ... There were 5 seconds left and Ricky had the ball. Everyone was blocked except Nick. “I'm open. I’m open,” Nick said over and over.
Ricky saw that he was open but he didn’ t care.
Nick decided to talk to Ricky after they failed the game.
Recently Jane, my best friend since when we were in junior high school, has been avoiding me on purpose. I don’t know why. I have tried to talk with her several times, but it doesn’t work. I don’t want to lose her. What should I do?
Yours,
Amy
I am sorry that you
Yours truly,
Li Hua
Kindness is seen as a true strength, and the success of civilizations relies on kindness. As parents and teachers, we also teach children from a young age to “be kind to one another” and “treat others the way you want to be treated.”
In addition to being helpful to our interpersonal relationships, research has shown that kindness can even contribute to our well-being. According to the Mayo Clinic, when we perform acts of kindness, the pleasure center in our brain is activated, releasing the stress-reducing hormone (激素). Individuals who volunteer on a regular basis report greater life satisfaction. And what is even greater is that kindness rarely stops with just one person. There can be a positive contagion (扩散) effect, where other people are motivated to be nice if they receive a random act of kindness. The question then arises: Could kindness be harmful to us when it has such clear benefits? Let’s think about this in the workplace or in an organization.
You are the new person on the team and you want to be well-liked and respected by your colleagues. You are a kind person and tell your team, “Let me know how I can help you; I’m always available to help.” Though you may truly mean this, there are unfortunately people in this world who can see your kindness as a weakness. This can lead to you being taken advantage of by others.
Let’s fast forward a year. You have been in your position now for one year, and you are working with the same team. You are noticing that your colleagues continue asking for your help over and over again. In fact, the only time they communicate with you is when they need something. You have been so helpful to your colleagues and there has rarely been any return from them.
In a very broad sense, it is advantageous to be kind to others, and your kind acts will be appreciated and, perhaps, paid forward. However, you need to be willing to say “no”. Recognize when your plate is already too full. When people ask you a favor, assess if you have the time, energy, and attention to give to them. To truly be kind, sometimes you need to be more comfortable saying “no” to others and saying “yes” to yourself.
1．What has the Mayo Clinic found concerning kindness?| A．It does good to our mind. |
| B．It reduces hormone levels. |
| C．It adds years to people’s life. |
| D．It leads to the success of civilizations. |
| A．Grateful. | B．Bored. | C．Disappointed. | D．Energetic. |
| A．When you’re too full to eat anything. |
| B．When your kind acts get appreciated. |
| C．When you should ask others a favor. |
| D．When you’re physically and mentally tired. |
| A．Your kindness counts for your well-being! |
| B．Are we tiring ourselves with kindness? |
| C．Why are random acts of kindness important? |
| D．Never underestimate the power of kindness at work! |
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