备战2022届高考英语外刊时事命题题组（四）阅读理解（含答案）
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备战2022年高考英语外刊时事命题题组（四）
阅读理解1 Gestures to Avoid in Cross-Cultural Business 跨文化商务中应避免的手势
阅读理解2 精致又神奇的蜂鸟
阅读理解3 NO TIME TO THINK 无暇思考
阅读理解1
Part1外刊原文
Gestures to Avoid in Cross-Cultural Business
选自HuffingtonPost
Success leaves clues, or in some instances, the lack of success leaves clues! Gestures are one of the first things to come to mind that can cause a major cultural faux pas. They can quickly sabotage anyone, including the most savvy business professionals. People from every culture, including various country leaders and several U.S. presidents, have been guilty of unintentionally offending people from different cultures through the use of inappropriate gestures. When it comes to body language gestures, the wisest advice might be to keep your fingers to yourself!
In Brazil, Germany, Russia, and many other countries around the world, the OK sign is a very offensive gesture because it is used to depict a private bodily orifice. The OK sign actually does mean "okay" in the United States, however in Japan it means "money," and it is commonly used to signify "zero" in France. Clearly the OK sign isn't offensive everywhere; however, it is not OK to use in many parts of the world, nor does it necessarily mean "okay"!
Most people are aware that the V for victory or peace signwas made popular by Winston Churchill in England during WWII. However, it's important to take heed of where you are in the world, because if you make this gesture with your palm facing inward in Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and several other countries throughout the world, it in essence means "Up yours!"
On Inauguration Day 2005, President George W. Bush raised his fist, with the index and little finger extended, to give the time honored hook 'em horns gesture of the Texas Longhorn football team to the marching band of the University of Texas. Newspapers around the world expressed their astonishment at the use of such a gesture. Italians refer to it as "il cornuto," which means that you are being cuckolded (that is, that your wife is cheating on you!). It's considered a curse in some African countries, and is clearly an offensive gesture in many other parts of the world.
The thumbs-up gesture is commonly used in many cultures to signify a job well done. However, if it is used in Australia, Greece, or the Middle East -- especially if it is thrust up as a typical hitchhiking gesture would be -- it means essentially "Up yours!" or "Sit on this!" The thumbs up gesture can also create some real problems for those who count on their fingers. In Germany and Hungary, the upright thumb is used to represent the number 1; however, it represents the number 5 in Japan. Take heed all you global negotiators: there is a big difference between 1 and 5 million!
As a professional speaker, I am all too aware that simply pointing with the index finger at something or someone can be offensive in many cultures. It is considered a very rude thing to do in China, Japan, Indonesia, Latin America, and many other countries. In Europe, it's thought of as impolite, and in many African countries the index finger is used only for pointing at inanimate objects, never at people. It's best to use an open hand with all your fingers together when you need to point at something or someone.
Curling the index finger with the palm facing up is a common gesture that people in the United States use to beckon someone to come closer. However, it is considered a rude gesture in Slovakia, China, East Asia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and many other parts of the world. It's also considered extremely impolite to use this gesture with people. It is used only to beckon dogs in many Asian countries -- and using it in the Philippines can actually get you arrested! The appropriate way to beckon someone in much of Europe, and parts of Asia, is to face the palm of your hand downward and move your fingers in a scratching motion.
The open hand or "moutza" gesture is insulting in parts of Africa and Asia, Greece, Pakistan, and in several other countries. It is formed by opening your palm with your fingers slightly apart and extending your arm toward someone, much like a wave in the U.S. This may seem harmless enough to many Westerners, however if someone does it with a more abrupt arm extension, its meaning changes to, "Enough is enough," or "Let me stop you right there." In other words, "Talk to the hand, because the face isn't listening!"
When it comes to body language gestures in the communication process, the important thing to keep in mind is that what we say, we say with our words, tonality, and body language.
Our body language often conveys more than the words we use. At times, it can completely change -- or even nullify -- our words' meaning.
Almost every gesture using fingers is sure to offend someone, somewhere, at some time. As a rule of thumb (no pun intended!), it is best to avoid using any single finger as a gesture -- unless you are absolutely sure it is appropriate for a particular culture or country. Open-handed gestures, with all fingers generally together, is usually considered the safest approach.
There are countless additional gestures that mean something different in every culture. Gestures have such a profound influence on communication that it really is best to keep your fingers to yourself!
Part 2命题改编
Gestures to Avoid in Cross-Cultural Business
Gestures are one of the first things to come to mind that can cause cultural impoliteness. People from every culture, including various country leaders and several U.S. presidents, have been guilty of unintentionally offending people from different cultures through the use of inappropriate gestures. When it comes to body language gestures, the wisest advice might be to keep your fingers to yourself!
In Brazil, Germany, Russia, and many other countries around the world, the OK sign is a very offensive gesture. The OK sign means “money” in Japan, and it is commonly used to represent “zero” in France. Although the OK sign isn’t offensive everywhere, it is not OK to use it in many parts of the world, and nor does it necessarily mean “okay” as it does in many English-speaking countries!
Most people are aware that the V sign was made popular by Winston Churchill in England during WWII. However, it’s important to pay attention to where you are in the world, because if you make this gesture with your palm facing inward in Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and several other countries throughout the world, it will actually mean an insult.
On Inauguration (就职) Day 2005, President George W. Bush raised his fist, with the index and little finger extended, to give the hook ‘em horns gesture of the Texas Longhorn football team to the marching band of the University of Texas. Newspapers around the world expressed their astonishment at the use of such a gesture. Italians refer to it as “il cornuto”, which means that your wife is betraying you. It’s also considered a curse (诅咒) in some African countries.
The thumbs-up gesture is commonly used in many cultures to mean that a job well done. However, if it is used in Australia, Greece, or the Middle East, it will make people believe you are offending them. The thumbs-up gesture can also create some real problems for those who count on their fingers. In Germany, the upright thumb is used to represent the number 1; however, it represents the number 5 in Japan.
Our body language often conveys more than the words we use. At times, it can completely change — or even distort（歪曲） — our words’ meaning.
1. Which of the following gesture may offend a British
2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage
A. The OK sign is only used in English-speaking countries.
B. A hook ‘em horns gesture can offend President George W. Bush.
C. Japanese people count numbers the same way as Chinese people do.
D. If you thumb up in Australia, you will make yourself unwelcome.
3. This article is intended to tell readers that they should .
A. never make gestures when communicating with others
B. make their words’ meaning misunderstood
C. use gestures with great care to avoid possible trouble
D. convey information by using gestures
Part 3题目参考答案
体裁：说明文 主题：人与社会
【语篇导读】本文主要介绍了跨文化商务中应避免的手势
1.B
2.D
3.C
阅读理解2
The Maya Great God made all the animals of the world and all the birds of the air. When he was done, he found a few leftover parts. He gathered tiny bones, gray feathers, and a long, thin beak and formed a new bird, smaller than a man’s thumb. The bird was given life, and the Great God was pleased.
This tiny creation would use its long beak to find food deep inside nectar-rich flowers, where no other birds could reach. Although the new bird was small, the Great God gave him strong wings and the quick-moving of an acrobat（杂技演员）. He could fly forward, backward, zigzag, and upside down. He could hover in one place or dive in an instant. The hum made by his fast-beating wings sounded like dzu-nu-ume, dzu-nu-ume, so the Mayans gave him the name Dzunuume, the hummingbird （蜂鸟）. Then the Great God created a female mate for the hummingbird, so the two could make a family. But first, there would be a wedding!
Many animals gathered to help with preparations. The splendid quetzal bird （绿鸟鹃）offered its elegant green tail feathers to the plain, gray birds. Butterflies danced in the air with luttering wings, as a gentle breeze scattered sweet-smelling flower petals. Spiders decorated the wedding path with silken webs, offering their finely spun threads as a gift to the female to use for her nest. The house finch （朱雀）presented his beautiful red feathers as a scarf for the male hummingbird.
The sun emerged from behind a cloud to bless the new couple. As sunlight bathed the tiny birds, their green feathers sparkled, and the male’s scarf dazzled with brilliant flashes of red and gold. The sun promised that whenever the hummingbird looked to the sun, his scarf would glimmer an ruby red, but when he turned away, it would darken again, to remind the tiny birds of the gray feathers they first wore and the kindness of their friends. The Great God was pleased with all these gifts and created many new hummingbirds with the same brilliant colors.
1. According to paragraph 1, the Great God created the tiny bird .
A. after the whole world is done
B. before he gave life to the animals and birds
C. accidentally without any previous schedule
D. when he found other animals he made unsatisfactory
2. According to paragraph 2, the bird got his name for his .
A. flexibility
B. wings
C. quick-moving
D. minitype
3. Where can you read the passage
A. The geographical magazine.
B. The storybook for teenagers.
C. The science fiction.
D. The newspaper.
4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph
A. Unlike the female, the male hummingbirds have throat feathers that glimmer in sunlight.
B. The whole world would be in dark if the hummingbirds forgot the kindness of their friends.
C. No other animals have been given a gift from the God except the hummingbirds.
D. Only when people look to the sun, they can see the red shining on the hummingbirds.
Part 3题目参考答案
体裁：说明文 主题：人与自然
【语篇导读】玛雅自然创造了精致的蜂鸟，介绍了蜂鸟的特点和寓意。
1.C
2.B
3.B
4.A
阅读理解3
Part1外刊原文
No Time to Think
选自 NewYorkTimes
ONE of the biggest complaints in modern society is being overscheduled, overcommitted and overextended. Ask people at a social gathering how they are and the stock answer is “super busy,” “crazy busy” or “insanely busy.” Nobody is just “fine” anymore.
When people aren’t super busy at work, they are crazy busy exercising, entertaining or taking their kids to Chinese lessons. Or maybe they are insanely busy playing fantasy football, tracing their genealogy or churning their own butter.
And if there is ever a still moment for reflective thought — say, while waiting in line at the grocery store or sitting in traffic — out comes the mobile device. So it’s worth noting a study published last month in the journal Science, which shows how far people will go to avoid introspection.
“We had noted how wedded to our devices we all seem to be and that people seem to find any excuse they can to keep busy,” said Timothy Wilson, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia and lead author of the study. “No one had done a simple study letting people go off on their own and think.”
The results surprised him and have created a stir in the psychology and neuroscience communities. In 11 experiments involving more than 700 people, the majority of participants reported that they found it unpleasant to be alone in a room with their thoughts for just 6 to 15 minutes.
Moreover, in one experiment, 64 percent of men and 15 percent of women began self-administering electric shocks when left alone to think. These same people, by the way, had previously said they would pay money to avoid receiving the painful jolt.
It didn’t matter if the subjects engaged in the contemplative exercise at home or in the laboratory, or if they were given suggestions of what to think about, like a coming vacation; they just didn’t like being in their own heads.
It could be because human beings, when left alone, tend to dwell on what’s wrong in their lives. We have evolved to become problem solvers and meaning makers. What preys on our minds, when we aren’t updating our Facebook page or in spinning class, are the things we haven’t figured out — difficult relationships, personal and professional failures, money trouble, health concerns and so on. And until there is resolution, or at least some kind of understanding or acceptance, these thoughts reverberate in our heads. Hello rumination. Hello insomnia.
“One explanation why people keep themselves so busy and would rather shock themselves is that they are trying to avoid that kind of negative stuff,” said Ethan Kross, director of the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory at the University of Michigan. “It doesn’t feel good if you’re not intrinsically good at reflecting.”
The comedian Louis C.K. has a riff that’s been watched nearly eight million times on YouTube in which he describes that not-good feeling. “Sometimes when things clear away and you’re not watching anything and you’re in your car and you start going, oh no, here it comes, that I’m alone, and it starts to visit on you, just this sadness,” he said. “And that’s why we text and drive. People are willing to risk taking a life and ruining their own because they don’t want to be alone for a second because it’s so hard.”
But you can’t solve or let go of problems if you don’t allow yourself time to think about them. It’s an imperative ignored by our culture, which values doing more than thinking and believes answers are in the palm of your hand rather than in your own head.
“It’s like we’re all in this addicted family where all this busyness seems normal when it’s really harmful,” said Stephanie Brown, a psychologist in Silicon Valley and the author of “Speed: Facing Our Addiction to Fast and Faster — and Overcoming Our Fear of Slowing Down.” “There’s this widespread belief that thinking and feeling will only slow you down and get in your way, but it’s the opposite.”
Suppressing negative feelings only gives them more power, she said, leading to intrusive thoughts, which makes people get even busier to keep them at bay. The constant cognitive strain of evading emotions underlies a range of psychological troubles such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, depression and panic attacks, not to mention a range of addictions. It is also associated with various somatic problems like eczema, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, inflammation, impaired immunity and headaches.
Studies further suggest that not giving yourself time to reflect impairs your ability to empathize with others. “The more in touch with my own feelings and experiences, the richer and more accurate are my guesses of what passes through another person’s mind,” said Giancarlo Dimaggio, a psychiatrist with the Center for Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy in Rome, who studies the interplay of self-reflection and empathy. “Feeling what you feel is an ability that atrophies if you don’t use it.”
Researchers have also found that an idle mind is a crucible of creativity. A number of studies have shown that people tend to come up with more novel uses for objects if they are first given an easy task that allows their minds to wander, rather than a more demanding one.
“Idle mental processing encourages creativity and solutions because imagining your problem when you aren’t in it is not the same as reality,” said Jonathan Smallwood, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of York, in England. “Using your imagination means you are in fact rethinking the problem in a novel way.”
Perhaps that’s why Google offers its employees courses called “Search Inside Yourself” and “Neural Self-Hacking,” which include instruction on mindfulness meditation, where the goal is to recognize and accept inner thoughts and feelings rather than ignore or repress them. It’s in the company’s interest because it frees up employees’ otherwise embattled brain space to intuit end users’ desires and create products to satisfy them.
“I have a lot of people who come in and want to learn meditation to shut out thoughts that come up in those quiet moments,” said Sarah Griesemer, a psychologist in Austin, Tex., who incorporates mindfulness meditation into her practice. “But allowing and tolerating the drifting in of thoughts is part of the process.” Her patients, mostly hard-charging professionals, report being more productive at work and more energetic and engaged parents.
To get rid of the emotional static, experts advise not using first-person pronouns when thinking about troubling events in your life. Instead, use third-person pronouns or your own name when thinking about yourself. “If a friend comes to you with a problem it’s easy to coach them through it, but if the problem is happening to us we have real difficulty, in part because we have all these egocentric biases making it hard to reason rationally,” said Dr. Kross of Michigan. “The data clearly shows that you can use language to almost trick yourself into thinking your problems are happening to someone else.”
Hard as they sometimes are, negative feelings are a part of everyone’s life, arguably more so if you are crazy busy. But it’s those same deep and troubling feelings, and how you deal with them, that make you the person you are. While busyness may stanch welling sadness, it may also limit your ability to be overcome with joy.
Part 2命题改编
One of the biggest complaints in modern society is being over-scheduled, overcommitted and overextended. Ask people at a social gathering how they are and the stock answer is “super busy” or “insanely busy.” Nobody is just “fine” anymore. When people aren’t super busy at work, they are crazy busy exercising, entertaining or taking their kids to Chinese lessons.
And if there is ever a still moment for reflective thought — say, while waiting in line at the grocery store or sitting in traffic — out comes the mobile device. So it’s worth noting a study published last month in the journal Science, which shows how far people will go to avoid introspection (内省) .
“We had noted how linked to our devices we all seem to be and that people seem to find any excuse they can to keep busy,” said Timothy Wilson, a psychology professor. “No one had done a simple study letting people go off on their own and think.”
The results surprised him and have created a stir in the psychology and neuroscience communities. In 11 experiments involving more than 700 people, the majority of participants reported that they found it unpleasant to be alone in a room with their thoughts for just 6 to 15 minutes. It could be because human beings, when left alone, tend to think over what’s wrong in their lives. We have evolved to become problem solvers and meaning makers. What preys on our minds, when we aren’t updating our Facebook or Wechat, are the things we haven’t figured out — difficult relationships, professional failures, money trouble, health concerns and so on. And until there is resolution, or at least some kind of understanding or acceptance, these thoughts reverberate (不断发生) in our heads. Hello, insomnia (失眠).
But you can’t solve or let go of problems if you don’t allow yourself time to think about them. It’s an imperative ignored by our culture, which values doing more than thinking and believes answers are in the palm of your hand rather than in your own head. “It’s like we’re all in this addicted family where all this busyness seems normal when it’s really harmful,” said Stephanie Brown, the author of “Speed: Facing Our Addiction to Fast and Faster — and Overcoming Our Fear of Slowing Down” “There’s this widespread belief that thinking will only slow you down and get in your way, but it’s the opposite.”
1. According to the passage, being super busy is .
A. a reflection of our modern fast-paced lifestyle
B. a popular state of living pursued by people themselves
C. an excuse for people to avoid reflective thought
D. a result of great pressure brought by urban life
2. What does the underlined phrase “preys on” in Paragraph 4 mean
A. constantly occurs to
B. constantly calls for
C. constantly feeds on
D. constantly warns of
3. What can be inferred from the paragraph 5
A. Busyness can keep us solving tricky problems.
B. Thinking may slow down our normal pace.
C. Our culture cherishes introspection more than action.
D. Thinking may boost our efficiency of problem solving
Part 3题目参考答案
体裁：说明文 主题：人与社会
【语篇导读】现代社会最大的抱怨之一是被过度安排、过度承诺和过度扩张，人们始终让自己保持忙碌，目的是为了避免自省，而这是一个误区，我们需要留出时间自我思考。
1.C
2.A
3.D
阅读理解1 Gestures to Avoid in Cross-Cultural Business 跨文化商务中应避免的手势
阅读理解2 精致又神奇的蜂鸟
阅读理解3 NO TIME TO THINK 无暇思考
阅读理解1
Part1外刊原文
Gestures to Avoid in Cross-Cultural Business
选自HuffingtonPost
Success leaves clues, or in some instances, the lack of success leaves clues! Gestures are one of the first things to come to mind that can cause a major cultural faux pas. They can quickly sabotage anyone, including the most savvy business professionals. People from every culture, including various country leaders and several U.S. presidents, have been guilty of unintentionally offending people from different cultures through the use of inappropriate gestures. When it comes to body language gestures, the wisest advice might be to keep your fingers to yourself!
In Brazil, Germany, Russia, and many other countries around the world, the OK sign is a very offensive gesture because it is used to depict a private bodily orifice. The OK sign actually does mean "okay" in the United States, however in Japan it means "money," and it is commonly used to signify "zero" in France. Clearly the OK sign isn't offensive everywhere; however, it is not OK to use in many parts of the world, nor does it necessarily mean "okay"!
Most people are aware that the V for victory or peace signwas made popular by Winston Churchill in England during WWII. However, it's important to take heed of where you are in the world, because if you make this gesture with your palm facing inward in Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and several other countries throughout the world, it in essence means "Up yours!"
On Inauguration Day 2005, President George W. Bush raised his fist, with the index and little finger extended, to give the time honored hook 'em horns gesture of the Texas Longhorn football team to the marching band of the University of Texas. Newspapers around the world expressed their astonishment at the use of such a gesture. Italians refer to it as "il cornuto," which means that you are being cuckolded (that is, that your wife is cheating on you!). It's considered a curse in some African countries, and is clearly an offensive gesture in many other parts of the world.
The thumbs-up gesture is commonly used in many cultures to signify a job well done. However, if it is used in Australia, Greece, or the Middle East -- especially if it is thrust up as a typical hitchhiking gesture would be -- it means essentially "Up yours!" or "Sit on this!" The thumbs up gesture can also create some real problems for those who count on their fingers. In Germany and Hungary, the upright thumb is used to represent the number 1; however, it represents the number 5 in Japan. Take heed all you global negotiators: there is a big difference between 1 and 5 million!
As a professional speaker, I am all too aware that simply pointing with the index finger at something or someone can be offensive in many cultures. It is considered a very rude thing to do in China, Japan, Indonesia, Latin America, and many other countries. In Europe, it's thought of as impolite, and in many African countries the index finger is used only for pointing at inanimate objects, never at people. It's best to use an open hand with all your fingers together when you need to point at something or someone.
Curling the index finger with the palm facing up is a common gesture that people in the United States use to beckon someone to come closer. However, it is considered a rude gesture in Slovakia, China, East Asia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and many other parts of the world. It's also considered extremely impolite to use this gesture with people. It is used only to beckon dogs in many Asian countries -- and using it in the Philippines can actually get you arrested! The appropriate way to beckon someone in much of Europe, and parts of Asia, is to face the palm of your hand downward and move your fingers in a scratching motion.
The open hand or "moutza" gesture is insulting in parts of Africa and Asia, Greece, Pakistan, and in several other countries. It is formed by opening your palm with your fingers slightly apart and extending your arm toward someone, much like a wave in the U.S. This may seem harmless enough to many Westerners, however if someone does it with a more abrupt arm extension, its meaning changes to, "Enough is enough," or "Let me stop you right there." In other words, "Talk to the hand, because the face isn't listening!"
When it comes to body language gestures in the communication process, the important thing to keep in mind is that what we say, we say with our words, tonality, and body language.
Our body language often conveys more than the words we use. At times, it can completely change -- or even nullify -- our words' meaning.
Almost every gesture using fingers is sure to offend someone, somewhere, at some time. As a rule of thumb (no pun intended!), it is best to avoid using any single finger as a gesture -- unless you are absolutely sure it is appropriate for a particular culture or country. Open-handed gestures, with all fingers generally together, is usually considered the safest approach.
There are countless additional gestures that mean something different in every culture. Gestures have such a profound influence on communication that it really is best to keep your fingers to yourself!
Part 2命题改编
Gestures to Avoid in Cross-Cultural Business
Gestures are one of the first things to come to mind that can cause cultural impoliteness. People from every culture, including various country leaders and several U.S. presidents, have been guilty of unintentionally offending people from different cultures through the use of inappropriate gestures. When it comes to body language gestures, the wisest advice might be to keep your fingers to yourself!
In Brazil, Germany, Russia, and many other countries around the world, the OK sign is a very offensive gesture. The OK sign means “money” in Japan, and it is commonly used to represent “zero” in France. Although the OK sign isn’t offensive everywhere, it is not OK to use it in many parts of the world, and nor does it necessarily mean “okay” as it does in many English-speaking countries!
Most people are aware that the V sign was made popular by Winston Churchill in England during WWII. However, it’s important to pay attention to where you are in the world, because if you make this gesture with your palm facing inward in Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and several other countries throughout the world, it will actually mean an insult.
On Inauguration (就职) Day 2005, President George W. Bush raised his fist, with the index and little finger extended, to give the hook ‘em horns gesture of the Texas Longhorn football team to the marching band of the University of Texas. Newspapers around the world expressed their astonishment at the use of such a gesture. Italians refer to it as “il cornuto”, which means that your wife is betraying you. It’s also considered a curse (诅咒) in some African countries.
The thumbs-up gesture is commonly used in many cultures to mean that a job well done. However, if it is used in Australia, Greece, or the Middle East, it will make people believe you are offending them. The thumbs-up gesture can also create some real problems for those who count on their fingers. In Germany, the upright thumb is used to represent the number 1; however, it represents the number 5 in Japan.
Our body language often conveys more than the words we use. At times, it can completely change — or even distort（歪曲） — our words’ meaning.
1. Which of the following gesture may offend a British
2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage
A. The OK sign is only used in English-speaking countries.
B. A hook ‘em horns gesture can offend President George W. Bush.
C. Japanese people count numbers the same way as Chinese people do.
D. If you thumb up in Australia, you will make yourself unwelcome.
3. This article is intended to tell readers that they should .
A. never make gestures when communicating with others
B. make their words’ meaning misunderstood
C. use gestures with great care to avoid possible trouble
D. convey information by using gestures
Part 3题目参考答案
体裁：说明文 主题：人与社会
【语篇导读】本文主要介绍了跨文化商务中应避免的手势
1.B
2.D
3.C
阅读理解2
The Maya Great God made all the animals of the world and all the birds of the air. When he was done, he found a few leftover parts. He gathered tiny bones, gray feathers, and a long, thin beak and formed a new bird, smaller than a man’s thumb. The bird was given life, and the Great God was pleased.
This tiny creation would use its long beak to find food deep inside nectar-rich flowers, where no other birds could reach. Although the new bird was small, the Great God gave him strong wings and the quick-moving of an acrobat（杂技演员）. He could fly forward, backward, zigzag, and upside down. He could hover in one place or dive in an instant. The hum made by his fast-beating wings sounded like dzu-nu-ume, dzu-nu-ume, so the Mayans gave him the name Dzunuume, the hummingbird （蜂鸟）. Then the Great God created a female mate for the hummingbird, so the two could make a family. But first, there would be a wedding!
Many animals gathered to help with preparations. The splendid quetzal bird （绿鸟鹃）offered its elegant green tail feathers to the plain, gray birds. Butterflies danced in the air with luttering wings, as a gentle breeze scattered sweet-smelling flower petals. Spiders decorated the wedding path with silken webs, offering their finely spun threads as a gift to the female to use for her nest. The house finch （朱雀）presented his beautiful red feathers as a scarf for the male hummingbird.
The sun emerged from behind a cloud to bless the new couple. As sunlight bathed the tiny birds, their green feathers sparkled, and the male’s scarf dazzled with brilliant flashes of red and gold. The sun promised that whenever the hummingbird looked to the sun, his scarf would glimmer an ruby red, but when he turned away, it would darken again, to remind the tiny birds of the gray feathers they first wore and the kindness of their friends. The Great God was pleased with all these gifts and created many new hummingbirds with the same brilliant colors.
1. According to paragraph 1, the Great God created the tiny bird .
A. after the whole world is done
B. before he gave life to the animals and birds
C. accidentally without any previous schedule
D. when he found other animals he made unsatisfactory
2. According to paragraph 2, the bird got his name for his .
A. flexibility
B. wings
C. quick-moving
D. minitype
3. Where can you read the passage
A. The geographical magazine.
B. The storybook for teenagers.
C. The science fiction.
D. The newspaper.
4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph
A. Unlike the female, the male hummingbirds have throat feathers that glimmer in sunlight.
B. The whole world would be in dark if the hummingbirds forgot the kindness of their friends.
C. No other animals have been given a gift from the God except the hummingbirds.
D. Only when people look to the sun, they can see the red shining on the hummingbirds.
Part 3题目参考答案
体裁：说明文 主题：人与自然
【语篇导读】玛雅自然创造了精致的蜂鸟，介绍了蜂鸟的特点和寓意。
1.C
2.B
3.B
4.A
阅读理解3
Part1外刊原文
No Time to Think
选自 NewYorkTimes
ONE of the biggest complaints in modern society is being overscheduled, overcommitted and overextended. Ask people at a social gathering how they are and the stock answer is “super busy,” “crazy busy” or “insanely busy.” Nobody is just “fine” anymore.
When people aren’t super busy at work, they are crazy busy exercising, entertaining or taking their kids to Chinese lessons. Or maybe they are insanely busy playing fantasy football, tracing their genealogy or churning their own butter.
And if there is ever a still moment for reflective thought — say, while waiting in line at the grocery store or sitting in traffic — out comes the mobile device. So it’s worth noting a study published last month in the journal Science, which shows how far people will go to avoid introspection.
“We had noted how wedded to our devices we all seem to be and that people seem to find any excuse they can to keep busy,” said Timothy Wilson, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia and lead author of the study. “No one had done a simple study letting people go off on their own and think.”
The results surprised him and have created a stir in the psychology and neuroscience communities. In 11 experiments involving more than 700 people, the majority of participants reported that they found it unpleasant to be alone in a room with their thoughts for just 6 to 15 minutes.
Moreover, in one experiment, 64 percent of men and 15 percent of women began self-administering electric shocks when left alone to think. These same people, by the way, had previously said they would pay money to avoid receiving the painful jolt.
It didn’t matter if the subjects engaged in the contemplative exercise at home or in the laboratory, or if they were given suggestions of what to think about, like a coming vacation; they just didn’t like being in their own heads.
It could be because human beings, when left alone, tend to dwell on what’s wrong in their lives. We have evolved to become problem solvers and meaning makers. What preys on our minds, when we aren’t updating our Facebook page or in spinning class, are the things we haven’t figured out — difficult relationships, personal and professional failures, money trouble, health concerns and so on. And until there is resolution, or at least some kind of understanding or acceptance, these thoughts reverberate in our heads. Hello rumination. Hello insomnia.
“One explanation why people keep themselves so busy and would rather shock themselves is that they are trying to avoid that kind of negative stuff,” said Ethan Kross, director of the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory at the University of Michigan. “It doesn’t feel good if you’re not intrinsically good at reflecting.”
The comedian Louis C.K. has a riff that’s been watched nearly eight million times on YouTube in which he describes that not-good feeling. “Sometimes when things clear away and you’re not watching anything and you’re in your car and you start going, oh no, here it comes, that I’m alone, and it starts to visit on you, just this sadness,” he said. “And that’s why we text and drive. People are willing to risk taking a life and ruining their own because they don’t want to be alone for a second because it’s so hard.”
But you can’t solve or let go of problems if you don’t allow yourself time to think about them. It’s an imperative ignored by our culture, which values doing more than thinking and believes answers are in the palm of your hand rather than in your own head.
“It’s like we’re all in this addicted family where all this busyness seems normal when it’s really harmful,” said Stephanie Brown, a psychologist in Silicon Valley and the author of “Speed: Facing Our Addiction to Fast and Faster — and Overcoming Our Fear of Slowing Down.” “There’s this widespread belief that thinking and feeling will only slow you down and get in your way, but it’s the opposite.”
Suppressing negative feelings only gives them more power, she said, leading to intrusive thoughts, which makes people get even busier to keep them at bay. The constant cognitive strain of evading emotions underlies a range of psychological troubles such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, depression and panic attacks, not to mention a range of addictions. It is also associated with various somatic problems like eczema, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, inflammation, impaired immunity and headaches.
Studies further suggest that not giving yourself time to reflect impairs your ability to empathize with others. “The more in touch with my own feelings and experiences, the richer and more accurate are my guesses of what passes through another person’s mind,” said Giancarlo Dimaggio, a psychiatrist with the Center for Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy in Rome, who studies the interplay of self-reflection and empathy. “Feeling what you feel is an ability that atrophies if you don’t use it.”
Researchers have also found that an idle mind is a crucible of creativity. A number of studies have shown that people tend to come up with more novel uses for objects if they are first given an easy task that allows their minds to wander, rather than a more demanding one.
“Idle mental processing encourages creativity and solutions because imagining your problem when you aren’t in it is not the same as reality,” said Jonathan Smallwood, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of York, in England. “Using your imagination means you are in fact rethinking the problem in a novel way.”
Perhaps that’s why Google offers its employees courses called “Search Inside Yourself” and “Neural Self-Hacking,” which include instruction on mindfulness meditation, where the goal is to recognize and accept inner thoughts and feelings rather than ignore or repress them. It’s in the company’s interest because it frees up employees’ otherwise embattled brain space to intuit end users’ desires and create products to satisfy them.
“I have a lot of people who come in and want to learn meditation to shut out thoughts that come up in those quiet moments,” said Sarah Griesemer, a psychologist in Austin, Tex., who incorporates mindfulness meditation into her practice. “But allowing and tolerating the drifting in of thoughts is part of the process.” Her patients, mostly hard-charging professionals, report being more productive at work and more energetic and engaged parents.
To get rid of the emotional static, experts advise not using first-person pronouns when thinking about troubling events in your life. Instead, use third-person pronouns or your own name when thinking about yourself. “If a friend comes to you with a problem it’s easy to coach them through it, but if the problem is happening to us we have real difficulty, in part because we have all these egocentric biases making it hard to reason rationally,” said Dr. Kross of Michigan. “The data clearly shows that you can use language to almost trick yourself into thinking your problems are happening to someone else.”
Hard as they sometimes are, negative feelings are a part of everyone’s life, arguably more so if you are crazy busy. But it’s those same deep and troubling feelings, and how you deal with them, that make you the person you are. While busyness may stanch welling sadness, it may also limit your ability to be overcome with joy.
Part 2命题改编
One of the biggest complaints in modern society is being over-scheduled, overcommitted and overextended. Ask people at a social gathering how they are and the stock answer is “super busy” or “insanely busy.” Nobody is just “fine” anymore. When people aren’t super busy at work, they are crazy busy exercising, entertaining or taking their kids to Chinese lessons.
And if there is ever a still moment for reflective thought — say, while waiting in line at the grocery store or sitting in traffic — out comes the mobile device. So it’s worth noting a study published last month in the journal Science, which shows how far people will go to avoid introspection (内省) .
“We had noted how linked to our devices we all seem to be and that people seem to find any excuse they can to keep busy,” said Timothy Wilson, a psychology professor. “No one had done a simple study letting people go off on their own and think.”
The results surprised him and have created a stir in the psychology and neuroscience communities. In 11 experiments involving more than 700 people, the majority of participants reported that they found it unpleasant to be alone in a room with their thoughts for just 6 to 15 minutes. It could be because human beings, when left alone, tend to think over what’s wrong in their lives. We have evolved to become problem solvers and meaning makers. What preys on our minds, when we aren’t updating our Facebook or Wechat, are the things we haven’t figured out — difficult relationships, professional failures, money trouble, health concerns and so on. And until there is resolution, or at least some kind of understanding or acceptance, these thoughts reverberate (不断发生) in our heads. Hello, insomnia (失眠).
But you can’t solve or let go of problems if you don’t allow yourself time to think about them. It’s an imperative ignored by our culture, which values doing more than thinking and believes answers are in the palm of your hand rather than in your own head. “It’s like we’re all in this addicted family where all this busyness seems normal when it’s really harmful,” said Stephanie Brown, the author of “Speed: Facing Our Addiction to Fast and Faster — and Overcoming Our Fear of Slowing Down” “There’s this widespread belief that thinking will only slow you down and get in your way, but it’s the opposite.”
1. According to the passage, being super busy is .
A. a reflection of our modern fast-paced lifestyle
B. a popular state of living pursued by people themselves
C. an excuse for people to avoid reflective thought
D. a result of great pressure brought by urban life
2. What does the underlined phrase “preys on” in Paragraph 4 mean
A. constantly occurs to
B. constantly calls for
C. constantly feeds on
D. constantly warns of
3. What can be inferred from the paragraph 5
A. Busyness can keep us solving tricky problems.
B. Thinking may slow down our normal pace.
C. Our culture cherishes introspection more than action.
D. Thinking may boost our efficiency of problem solving
Part 3题目参考答案
体裁：说明文 主题：人与社会
【语篇导读】现代社会最大的抱怨之一是被过度安排、过度承诺和过度扩张，人们始终让自己保持忙碌，目的是为了避免自省，而这是一个误区，我们需要留出时间自我思考。
1.C
2.A
3.D