If you’re ever reading a book or watching a movie and get the distinct feeling you’ve come across the story before — or even better, can predict exactly what's going to happen next — there could be a good reason for that.
Researchers from the Computational Story Laboratory at the University of Vermont studied the complete text of some 1,737 fiction works available on Project Gutenberg, an online collection of more than 50,000 digital books in the public area. They discovered that English literature consists of just six kinds of emotional arcs (情感弧线) that make up nearly all of the most well-known stories. By analysing the sentiment (情感) of language used in these texts, the researchers were able to show the emotional ups and downs for the stories as a whole. They discovered that negative words like “poverty”, “dead”, and “punishment” dragged the emotion down, while positive terms like “love”, “peace”, and “friend” brought it up.
According to the researchers, those six core (核心的) emotional arcs are:
“Rags to riches” (An ongoing emotional rise)
“Tragedy, or riches to rags” (An ongoing emotional fall)
“Man in a hole” (A fall followed by a rise)
“Icarus” (A rise followed by a fall)
“Cinderella” (Rise–fall–rise)
“Oedipus” (Fall–rise–fall)
Interestingly, based on download statistics from Project Gutenberg, the researchers say the most popular stories are ones that use more complex emotional arcs, with the “Cinderella” and “Oedipus” arcs registering the most downloads. Also popular are works that combine these core arcs together in new ways within one story, such as two “Man in a hole” arcs stuck together, or the “Cinderella” arc coupled with a tragic ending.
1.Readers often feel familiar when reading a new story because stories have similar ______.
A. beginnings B. endings
C. characters D. emotional arcs
2.How did researchers carry out their study?
A. By conducting surveys among readers.
B. By reading books borrowed from libraries.
C. By analysing works from an online collection.
D. By interviewing authors of the well-known stories.
3.Which set of works may drag emotion down?
A. Hope, fortune and riches.
B. Disease, murder and war.
C. Smile, health and beauty.
D. Cold, earthquake and spring.
4.According to the last paragraph, which kind of works are most popular among readers?
A. Works with an ongoing emotional rise.
B. Works with an ongoing emotional fall.
C. Works with a rise followed by a fall.
D. Works with more than one rise and fall.
Have you ever thought of quitting your job when you feel exhausted? Maybe most of you would say “yes”. After a particularly busy period at work, I decided to get away from it all by going on a hike in the mountains in southern France.
Before I left, I read an interesting story in a magazine. It read, “Once, while I was riding on a crowded bus, the man sitting next to me threw his cell phone out of the window when his phone rang. I was surprised. He looked at me, shrugged (耸耸肩) and looked away. I had no idea whether it was his or stolen or whether he even knew what a cell phone was or not, but he clearly wanted to be free of it, because it clearly troubled him.”
Billions of people across the world use cell phones. Though cell phones are a wonderful way for communication, they often do the exact opposite. Using cell phones can increase stress within families and friends.
So when I recently returned home, I got rid of my cell phone. Now I go outside without taking my phone with me. I’ve noticed things in my neighborhood I never noticed before, such as gardens. I’ve met new people, started conversations with neighbors I didn’t speak to before and talked with some of my friends face to face instead of chatting over the phone.
Instead of keeping me off from the world, stopping using my cell phone has helped me get even closer to my family and friends.
1.According to the story, the man on the bus threw away his cell phone because .
A. it didn’t work properly
B. it was stolen from someone else
C. he didn’t like the phone’s style
D. he didn’t want to be bothered by it
2.We can learn from the passage that cell phones .
A. are too expensive for many people
B. are of no use to the author
C. can also get people into trouble
D. can make life more interesting
3.What can we learn about the author?
A. He wants to own a garden now.
B. He always chatted with his neighbors.
C. He used to take his cell phone when going outside.
D. He once threw away his cell phone.
4.The main purpose of the passage is to .
A. tell us not to let cell phones control our lives
B. encourage others to hike with him in France
C. share his experiences in France with us
D. teach us how to get along with neighbors
Preparations are underway around the world for Chinese New Year (Feb 19) and celebrations in China will be mirrored across the planet wherever the Chinese Diaspora (华侨) calls home. Here are some Chinatowns for those outside of China wishing to mark the day.
London
Although it may not be as large or as long-built as others, having only become a center for the Chinese community during the 1950s, London's Chinatown is a perfectly formed little firework that knows how to see in the year with a bang. Decorated with red lanterns (灯笼), previous years have seen shows with acrobatics (杂技), martial arts (武术), dance and opera nearby.
San Francisco
San Francisco's Chinatown is perhaps the most famous in the United States. The city was the main entry-point for Chinese who had crossed the Pacific to the USA during the early 19th century. Between the Grant Avenue and the Stockton Street, this historic area is a local treasure, attracting more visitors per year than the Golden Gate Bridge.
Bangkok
With a more than 100-year-old history, the Thai capital's Chinatown contains complex streets offering all kinds of tasty treats, clothes, toys and antiques. Sunday market days are such a good time to get the full atmosphere of the neighborhood. The area is also known for its gold dealers, whose shops line the road.
Mauritius
Found in Port Louis, this Mauritian Chinatown shows the island nation's rich multicultural diversity. Established in the early years of the 20th century by settlers from China, its tiny shops and restaurants serve locals and visitors. During the Chinese Spring Festival, the most exciting sight is the Dragon Dances on Rue Royale when Chinese musicians and dancers perform the traditional Lion dances through the streets.
1.According to the text, which of the following has the longest history?
A. London's Chinatown.
B. Bangkok's Chinatown.
C. Mauritius's Chinatown.
D. San Francisco's Chinatown.
2.What's special about Bangkok's Chinatown?
A. It is crowded with Chinese restaurants.
B. It is well-known for its gold business.
C. It was the major entrance for the Chinese.
D. It is where you can enjoy fireworks.
3. If you want to enjoy the Dragon Dances, you can go to ____.
A. Rue Royale in Port Louis, Mauritius
B. the Sunday market in Bangkok
C. the Grant Avenue in San Francisco
D. the Chinese community in London
假如你是李华，你的外国笔友Peter写信告知他将要来你就读的学校做交换生，你回信给他，主要内容如下：
1.欢迎他的到来；
2.简要介绍你居住的城市和你就读的学校；
3.邀请他住在你家。
注意：
1.100词左右；
2.可适当增加细节以使行文连贯。
Dear Mr.David,
How is everything going?___________________________________________________________________
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下短文。短文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
It is my son's birthday two days ago.As I didn't buy any gift for him,I offered him with $10 as a birthday gift. Last evening he used it take his cousin out for ice cream.It turned out that these two kids were the last one in the shop for the day.But the lady at the register who wanted to cash out quickly told them their ice cream was freely! They were too exciting to hear it.Then I asked my son why he did with the money.To my joyful,he replied that he gave it to the homeless man.
As a listening child,I often heard1.(old) people say:"What dreams I had!"and"If only I had my life to live over."I2.(understand) that these men and women had missed the fullness of life somehow.
But I wasn't going to miss it,I decided at the age of fourteen.In a slightly3.(use) copy book,I made a full list of what I wanted from life.I would be devoted to4.(realize) them one by one.5.,as years went by,I was middle aged and alone.My children had left to make their own full life somewhere.I,too,didn't realize even half the amount 6.what I had planned.One rainy night,I went to the bookstore to get a paperback book to read7.(me) to sleep on.I picked up an Emile Zola book,8.reminded me of something I had read long ago: Zola had said,“To have a child,to plant a tree,to write a book.”That,he said,was a full life!A great stillness grew about me as I realized I had a child,I'd planted a tree,and in fact,I'd even written a book.
Eventually,I came to a clear9.(conclude),and it is10.university one: To live,to struggle,to be in love with life is fulfillment.
