I’ve spent two decades observing what makes people lucky and trying to help people increase their luck. I teach entrepreneurship (社会学). We know many new enterprises fail, and innovators (创业者)need luck.
With my students, I spend much time encouraging them to get out of their comfort zone and take some risks. I do this myself all the time. About a dozen years ago, during a flight, I decided to take a little risk. I started a conversation with the man sitting next to me. I introduced myself, and I learned that he was a publisher. I learned all about the future of the publishing industry and we exchanged contact (联系) information. So about three quarters through the night, I decided to take another risk. I showed him a book plan I was doing in my class. Although he was very polite, he said it wasn’t right for us.
A couple of months later, I told him I was doing a project on transforming the book, the future of publishing and invited him to come to my class. So he gladly came to my class. We had a great experience. A few months later, I wrote to him again, sending a bunch of video clips (剪辑) from another project my students had made. He was so stricken by one of them that he thought there was a book in it. I was a little bit hurt, but it was all right. So I invited him and his colleagues to have lunch together. Later, one of his editors asked me if I had considered writing a book. And I pulled out the exact same plan I had showed his boss a year earlier. Within two years, my book had sold over a million copies.
1.We can infer from the author’s experience on the plane that .
A.the publisher was stricken by his book
B.that was his first experience by plane
C.the first risk during the night didn’t work out
D.the experience made him transform his book
2.Why did the author send the students’ video clips?
A.To have their book published. B.To help to increase his luck.
C.To assess their writing skills. D.To help them see their strength.
3.Which can be the best title for the passage?
A.Take the Lead B.Everything is Possible
C.Win in Danger D.Luck and Risk
4.What does the author think resulted in his luck?
A.Publishing books. B.A series of small risks.
C.Being turned down frequently. D.Meeting with the stranger on the plane.
Are you driven to create change in bettering kids’ futures? Here are a few options.
Education
Going after a career in education is sometimes overlooked. Yet teaching is an important path to creating change. You will educate the young minds responsible for the future. In addition to presenting basic school subjects, you can teach them to be leaders. You can motivate them to want to make a difference themselves.
A career in education doesn’t have to mean leaching in a classroom. You can help them to learn in a way that works for them and be a friend to them as well.
Social work
As a social worker, you can directly change the lives of children in need as well advocate for services for drug abusers, family-violence survivors, mental-health patients, and more. You will provide them with the necessary resources to succeed and advise them through trauma (精神创伤), unemployment, education difficulties, addiction and poverty.
Many social workers are associated with governmental agencies, but there are also jobs in schools, nonprofit organizations and hospitals.
Child psychology
Studying child psychology may lead to a career option. Psychologists can provide support for children with mental-health problems and give them a place to be open about their feelings.
You may wish to become a school psychologist and guide children (and their parents) through the education system while dealing with mental illness or trauma. As a psychologist, you will help your patients find the source of trauma or stress and discover ways of reducing or removing the problem. You may even conduct your own research on new treatment methods.
1.Which educational concept does the author support?
A.Working with students’ group leaders.
B.Teaching children according to their interests.
C.Keeping teaching children in the classroom.
D.Encouraging students to make a change themselves.
2.Who will social workers help most probably?
A.Governmental officials.
B.Local business agents.
C.Children with education difficulties.
D.Women suffering from family violence.
3.Which career mainly deals with children with mental illness?
A.Educators.
B.School leaders.
C.Social workers.
D.School psychologists.
请认真阅读下面短文，并按照要求用英语写一篇 150 词左右的文章。
Running individual official accounts on social-networking app WeChat has become a new channel for Chinese people to express themselves, according to a survey.
At present, many media organizations, companies and individuals in China have launched official accounts on WeChat, making efforts to attract more subscribers to expand their reach. Over 66 percent of 2,001 respondents said they were willing to set up individual official accounts while 27.2 percent said they had already started such accounts.
The survey, published by the China Youth Daily, also said expressing feelings and views, as well as gaining popularity, was the top reasons why people wanted individual official accounts. More than half of individual official accounts offered content concerning personal views and feelings, as well as entertainment and recreation information, the survey said.
Of more than 540 respondents that have individual official accounts on WeChat, 5 percent claimed that they had built popular ''self-media'' brands using the accounts, while 12.2 percent said they had made money from the accounts through advertising. Meanwhile, 42 percent said their accounts had limited influence with only a few subscribers.
（写作内容）
1. 用约 30 个词概括上文的主要内容；
2. 用约 120 个词说明你对“创建个人公众号”此现象持支持或反对的态度，并给出 2 个理由。
（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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请认真阅读下列短文, 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。请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。
There are times when you want to know how to make friends. Maybe you are just not confident because you're afraid that people may not react the way you want them to. But it is not very hard to make friends; it is just what you think it is that makes you not willing to do it. Continue reading to find out how!
Don’t be mean or rude; you do not want to lose any potential friends. Be nice and friendly. If you want to make friends, you first need to put yourself out there somehow in order to meet people. If you just sit alone, friends might come to you, but the odds are much smaller. If you're still in school, sit somewhere with other people. It doesn’t have to be the ''popular'' or ''cool'' table, or a crowded one, but one with at least two other people. Hang out with many others. The popular kids won’t matter when you’re older, but a true friend will be there for you forever.
There is no necessary need to have a lot of common interests with people in order to make friends with them. But if you like a specific topic, try searching for just an organization or a club where you can find people who are also interested in it and become a member of it. It's a great way to meet new local people.
Volunteering is also a great way for people of all ages to meet others. By working together you build bonds with people, and you might meet others who have a passion for changing things the way you do, that is, a common cause.
There are many ways to start a conversation-a comment about your immediate environment (The weather is a classic: ''At least it's not raining like last week! ''), a request for help (''Can you help me carry a few boxes, if you have a minute? '' or ''Can you help me decide which one of these is a better gift for my mum? '') or a compliment (''I love your shoes. ''). Follow up immediately with a related question: Do you like this warm weather? What kinds of gifts do you normally buy for your mums? Where did you get shoes like that? Also, make a small talk. Remember the 30% talking and 70% listening ratio during small talk.
You've probably heard of fair-weather friends. They're the ones who are happy to be around you when things are going well, but are nowhere to be found when you really need them. Part of being a friend is being prepared to make sacrifices of your time and energy in order to help your friends out. If a friend needs help with an unpleasant chore, or if he or she just needs a shoulder to cry on, be there. If your friend tells a joke, laugh with him or her. Never complain about a friend. If you and your friend agree to meet somewhere, don’t be late, and do not stand him or her up. If you're not going to make it on time or make it at all, call him or her as soon as you realize it. Apologize and ask to reschedule. Be someone who people know that they can count on.
In a word, when you get along with people around you, it's important for you to actively approach others, start a small conversation freely and then develop a close relationship with others.
Introduction | Sometimes you want to find ways to make friends, but you1.confidence. |
Spend more time around people | If you don’t want to lose any potential friends, be nice and friendly to others. |
2.an organization or a club | ▲You don't3.need to have a lot of common interests with people. ▲Some of the most rewarding friendships are between two people who don't have much in common at all. |
Volunteer | When volunteering with others, you can keep in4.with people and might meet those who can change the way that you do. |
Start a conversation | ▲You can start a conversation by5.on the environment or make a small talk. ▲Keep the 30% talking and 70% listening ratio in6.during small talks. |
Be nice and loyal to a friend | ▲Sometimes, you have to7.your time and energy when your friends need help. ▲If a friend needs help when he or she is in trouble, or if he or she wants to 8.joy or sorrow with you, be there. ▲Don't make9.about your friends. ▲Don't be late for your appointments. |
10. | Only when you actively approach others can you make friends with others much better. |
The age of adulthood is by definition arbitrary. If everyone matured at the same, fixed rate, it wouldn’t be a human process. Indeed, maturation happens at varying speeds across different categories within the same individual, so I’d say I was easily old enough to vote at 16, but nobody should have given me a credit card until I was 32, and I’ve got the county court judgment to prove it.
However, we broadly agree that there's a difference between a child and an adult, even if we might argue about the transition point. So the political theorist David Runciman's view that six-year-olds should be allowed to vote goes against any standard argument about the age of civic responsibility. Nobody would say that a six-year-old could be held criminally responsible, could be sent to war, could be capable of consent, could be given responsibility for anything. So allowing them the vote-along with, unavoidably, seven-year-olds who are even sillier, if anything-is quite an amusing proposal.
Runciman's argument is that this is the only way to rebalance political life, which is currently twisted in favor of the old, who don't (he added) ever need to demonstrate mental capacity, even long after they've lost it.
The first part of his case is self-evident: pensions are protected while children's centers are closed, concepts such as sovereignty(最高权威) are prioritized over the far more urgent business of the future: climate change. Nostalgia(怀念) for a past the young wouldn't even recognize plays a central role, which is completely unfair.
Most of the arguments against giving six-year-olds a vote are that children would end up voting for something damaging and chaotic, if someone made unrealistic promises to them, which could never be realized.
Well, it's not children's fault.
Having said that, children do tend towards the progressive, having a natural sense of justice (which kicks in at the age of six months, psychologists have shown, by creating scenes of great unfairness to babies, and making them cry) and an underdeveloped sense of self-interest. My kid, when he was six, made quite a forceful case against private property, on the basis that, since everybody needed a house, they shouldn't cost money, because nobody would want anyone else not to have one. Also, food should be free. It was a kind of pre-Marx communism, where you limit the coverage of the market to only those things that you wouldn't mind someone else not having.
On that particular day, when we were registered as voters, my kid was quite far to the left of me, but in the normal run of things, we're united, which brings us to the point of the problem: children obey you on almost nothing, but they do seem to believe in your politics until they're adolescent. So giving kids the vote is really just a way of giving parents extra votes. And what can stop us having even more children, once there's so much enfranchisement(选举权) in it for us?
Now, if parents could be trusted to use their influence wisely, and hammer into children the politics it will take to assure a better future, then I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with that, apart from, obviously, that culture is already wildly twisted towards parents, and I can imagine a few non-parents boiling with fierce anger. But that's not worth talking about anyway, because parents can't be trusted, otherwise we'd all already vote Green(绿党).
In short: no, six-year-olds should not get the vote; but while we're here, if any votes come up in the near future, which will have an impact on the next five decades of British political life, alongside EU migrants,16-year-olds certainly should be enfranchised.
1.The author refers to his age of adulthood to prove that .
A.people mature at different rates in various aspects
B.there's a common standard for the age of adulthood
C.a credit card is more difficult to get than the vote
D.certain rights are granted at different stages of life
2.People reject David Runciman's proposal because .
A.they don't think a child can grow into adulthood earlier
B.they are uncertain whether children can assume responsibility
C.they believe children are far from mature in many ways
D.they know the age to get the vote is not to be questioned
3.The author talks about his kid to indicate that .
A.children are good-natured and like to help people in need
B.children are simple-minded and can fall for an adult's trick
C.children are innocent and don't want to be involved in politics
D.children are in favor of a just society and tend to be idealistic
4.The author thinks allowing children the vote may lead to .
A.twisted culture B.misuse of rights
C.parents' objections D.unusual maturation
5.What is the main point of the passage?
A.Allowing children the vote is not altogether absurd.
B.There is a difference between adults and children.
C.Parents should introduce politics to their children.
D.The definition of adulthood is quite controversial.
In the United States, experts are calling for major changes to the admission process in higher education.
The National Center for Educational Statistics (or NCES) reported that U.S colleges and universities received more than million applications between 2013 and 2014 and admitted more than 5 million students. But the problem is not in the number of students, a new report says. The report is called ''Turning the Tide-Making Caring Common. ''
The report argues that the process schools use to choose students causes major problems. David Hawkins is the Executive Director for Educational Content and Policy. He says that most colleges and universities require many things from students when they apply.
Schools usually require an essay describing a student's interests or why they want to study at that school. The schools also ask for letters from teachers describing why a student is a good candidate. But, Hawkins says, schools are most concerned with a student's high school grades and standardized test results.
The Education Conservancy is an organization that fights to make higher education equal and available. Lloyd Thacker is the Executive Director of the Education Conservancy, saying that the college admission process has changed a lot.
''Over the past 30 years, college admissions have become more complex. '' He says that ranking systems for colleges and universities are a big part of the problem.
U.S. News and World Report is a media company that creates a list of what it calls ''America's Best Colleges''. The company bases the list on information collected from colleges and universities across the country. This information includes results of standardized tests like the SAT from all of a school's students. Higher average test results help put schools higher on the list.
Thacker claims, ''Too many students are learning to do whatever it takes in order to get ahead, even if that means sacrificing their own individuality, their health, their happiness and behavior…''
''The impact on students and on parents is that college is all about where you go. The rank has nothing to do with the quality of education that goes on at the college''.
The Harvard report states that the best way to change the admission process is by changing college applications.
1.When choosing students, colleges and universities attach greatest importance to .
A.their teachers' opinion B.their personal interest
C.their academic performance D.their reasons for application
2.The media company ranks the schools on the basis of .
A.peoples' attitude towards the schools
B.employment rate of its graduates
C.the schools' teaching quality
D.information like test results
3.Which of the following does Lloyd Thacker probably agree with?
A.Colleges are supposed to admit more and more students.
B.It is necessary to apply for a proper university by referring to the rank.
C.There is little relationship between colleges rank and the quality of education.
D.The better the applicants grades are, the more likely they will be admitted.
4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A.Higher Rankings Matter a Great Deal
B.Colleges Look to Change Admission Process
C.Colleges Admission Process Makes a Difference
D.Testing Results Determine Students' Fate
