备考2023年高考英语二轮专题：阅读理解（社会生活）

Have you ever seen your favourite celebrity talking about a product on social media? These endorsements (名人代言) might not be random, but are actually seen as a vital part of the marketing process. Human desire for status and making friends, combined with our need to belong to a group, makes us easy to be "socially influenced". Companies often use that desire to have a similar lifestyle to a celebrity to sell or launch a product. So, what do these endorsements actually do?

Firstly, they can be used to build brand awareness. A social media influencer should have a strong understanding of the platform they operate on, and therefore can create engaging content that not only sticks to the brand image, but sparks their followers' interests in a product they might never have seen before.

Secondly, influencers can improve a company or product's relationship with their customer base. According to a report on customer loyalty, 77% of buyers have been brand loyal for more than ten years. This is also true of 60% of millennials. A popular celebrity can target key customers and talk or blog about a product, which can create an instant and lasting bond with the consumer.

Lasty, influencers can improve customer buying habits with seemingly "fair opinions". We are more likely to respond to "peer recommendation" than traditional ads, meaning the fact we see an influencer as a "friend" can make us less likely to be sceptical about what we are seeing.

So, next time you see a celebrity talking about a product, you might want to consider this could be a carefully crafted marketing strategy designed to target your core needs. If you find yourself perusing a product you've seen on social media, you may well have been influenced.

Facial expressions are the primary way people exhibit emotion and read the feelings of others. Happiness, sadness, disgust, fear and surprise can be communicated through facial expressions alone. But when part of the face is masked, it becomes more difficult to recognize these cues.

If you cannot read someone else' s emotional state, your ability to empathize with them may be compromised. Likewise, if your own mask is hiding your emotional state, others may not be able to empathize with you. Wearing a mask can also make you feel more distracted and self-conscious, further weakening your connection to others.

Fortunately, you can regain some control over communication by working with what you have left-the eyes. If you want to increase understanding with a masked individual, you should look them in the eyes, which may be easier said than done. Eye contact generates self- consciousness, consumes extra brain power and becomes uncomfortable after only three seconds. But bear in mind, eye contact can also make you appear more intelligent and trustworthy.

You might be surprised how much information is conveyed by the body itself. For instance, when someone is happy, they stand up straighter, when they are sad, they drop their head; and when they are angry, their whole body tenses up. Learning how people use their bodies to convey emotion may help reduce the uncertainty you feel when communicating with someone in a mask.

Become aware of your own body language, too. When engaged in a conversation, you can appear more attentive by turning your body toward the individual, leaning in or nodding. To let another person know you want to start speaking, straighten your posture, or nod more frequently. Finally, he «ware that imitating the posture of another person can increase how much they like you and even agree with you.

By all means, continue the proper measures to keep yourself safe, but don't neglect your relationships as a consequence. Social distance doesn't have to mean socially distant.

One day when some government officials were rebuilding a barn, they found a mouse hole in a corner and used smoke to force the mice inside the hole to come out. A while later they really saw mice running out, one after another. Then, everyone thought that all the mice had escaped. But just as they began to clean up, they saw two mice squeezing out at the mouth of the hole. With some efforts, the mice finally got out. However, it was strange that after they came out of the hole, they did not run away immediately. Instead, one chased after the other near the mouth of the hole. It seemed that one was trying to bite the tail of the other.

Everyone was puzzled, so they stepped nearer to take a look. They realized that one of the mice was blind and could not see anything, and the other was trying to allow the blind mouse to bite on his tail so that he could pull the blind one with him to escape.

After seeing what happened, everyone was speechless and lost in thought. During the meal time, the group of people sat down in a circle and started to talk about what happened to the two mice.

One serious American official said, "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of king and guard." The others thought for a while and said, "That was why!"

A clever French said, "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of husband and wife." Again the others thought for a while, and all felt it made sense.

A Japanese said, "I think the relationship between those two mice was that of mother and son." Once again the others thought for a while, and felt this was more reasonable. So they expressed agreement another time.

At that moment, one Chinese asked, "Why did those two mice have to have a certain relationship?"

Suddenly, the group looked back at the Chinese and remained speechless. The American official, the French and the Japanese who had spoken earlier all lowered their heads in shame, and did not dare to answer.

In fact, true love is not built on friendship, loyalty or blood relationship. Instead, it is built on no relationship.

I first met Paul Newman in 1968, when George Roy Hill, the director of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, introduced us in New York City. When the studio didn't want me for the film - it wanted somebody as well known as Paul - he stood up for me. I don't know how many people would have done that; they would have listened to their agents or the studio powers.

The friendship that grew out of the experience of making that film and The Sting four years later had its root in the fact that although there was an age difference, we both came from a tradition of theater and live TV. We were respectful of craft (技艺) and focused on digging into the characters we were going to play. Both of us had the qualities and virtues that are typical of American actors: humorous, aggressive, and making fun of each other - but always with an underlying affection. Those were also at the core (核心) of our relationship off the screen.

We shared the belief that if you're fortunate enough to have success, you should put something back - he with his Newman's Own food and his Hole in the Wall camps for kids who are seriously ill, and me with Sundance and the institute and the festival. Paul and I didn't see each other all that regularly, but sharing that brought us together. We supported each other financially and by showing up at events.

I last saw him a few months ago. He'd been in and out of the hospital. He and I both knew what the deal was, and we didn't talk about it. Ours was a relationship that didn't need a lot of words. Why was the studio unwilling to give the role to author at first?

I believe in the power of science fiction, not just for its capacity to turn dreams into reality, but also for its power to bond together those who share a common view of the future. For me, that's true for my relationship with my dad. Some fathers and sons bond over sports, fishing or hunting, but my dad and I bond over Star Trek (星际迷航).

When we're driving along some dark streets in Indiana, going at a slow speed with stars dimly shining, both of us are thinking of it, without needing to say a word. All these imaginations of other universes have together created a private universe for my dad and me.

Gene Roddenberry, creator of star Trek, once said, "Science fiction is a way of thinking and a way of logic. lt allows people to look directly at important subjects." Science fiction has influenced more than just my relationship with my dad, but has also helped me shape my own hopes for the future. I'm now a science writer.

Science fiction also has been a source of joy for my family, making me an optimist while enabling me to think critically about the danger of technology. Thank those authors who have shared their visions. The world and my family are better for it. Thank my dad, because he helped me realize the truth of Tennyson's words, "For I dipped into the future, far as human eyes could see, saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be."

I first met Paul Newman in 1968, when George Roy Hill, the director of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, introduced us in New York City. When the studio didn't want me for the film—it wanted somebody as well known as Paul — he stood up for me. I don't know how many people would have done that; they would have listened to their agents or the studio powers.

The friendship that grew out of the experience of making that film and The Sting four years later had its root in the fact that although there was an age difference, we both came from a tradition of theater and live TV. We were respectful of craft（技艺）and focused on digging into the characters we were going to play. Both of us had the qualities and virtues that are typical of American actors: humorous, aggressive, and making fun of each other—but always with an underlying affection. Those were also at the core（核心）of our relationship off the screen.

We shared the belief that if you're fortunate enough to have success, you should put something back — he with his Newman's Own food and his Hole in the Wall camps for kids who are seriously ill, and me with Sundance and the institute and the festival. Paul and I didn't see each other all that regularly, but sharing that brought us together. We supported each other financially and by showing up at events.

I last saw him a few months ago. He'd been in and out of the hospital. He and I both knew what the deal was, and we didn't talk about it. Ours was a relationship that didn't need a lot of words.

Student from Taiwan played a key role in safeguarding his community in Beijing during pandemic outbreak and is working to establish closer ties between young people across the Straits.

Chen Wencheng from Taiwan, a postdoctoral student at Peking University, had been doing volunteer work in his neighborhood since Spring Festival. This was the first Lunar New Year holiday he didn't celebrate in his hometown of Zhanghua, Taiwan, during his nine-year stay in Beijing.

Chen, 31, from the university's department of philosophy and religious studies, chose to stay in Beijing's Haidian District with his pregnant wife, who gave birth to their daughter last month. After the COVID- 19 outbreak hit Beijing in late January, he soon applied to be a community volunteer to help with pandemic prevention and control.

He started work on the day he signed as a volunteer on Feb4, with his duties including such tasks as checking passes and the temperature of people entering the community or delivering food and other necessities to his neighbors in self-quarantine.

The buildings in the community have five floors with no elevators. Chen sometimes had dozens of deliveries each day, including big rice bags and barrels of cooking oil, among other daily supplies.

"Those were heavy, and that's why the community needed us younger people to help, "Chen says.

"The volunteer job looks like petty work, but it matters as it enhances the safety of the more than 2, 000 residents in our community, "Chen says. "The work also allowed me to get to know more of my neighbors, which makes the whole community feel like a big family. "

My first job was working for a women's clothes manufacturer at the age of 15. It made me realise what I didn't want to do for my future employment.

The only advantage of this job was receiving a wage at the end of the week and sometimes getting clothes for free if they were to my taste. I carried on doing this for only a year, as my studies at school were getting more serious and I wanted to study more to get the right grades.

After I had finished college, my first real job was working for a play publisher in central London. I remember writing a letter of application for the post of administration for Samuel French Limited. I had put so much effort into writing it, not realising that this would be my first step in the process of finding out what I really wanted to do for my future employment. I didn't think I would get the job, but as it turned out, I got a telephone call quickly and started a week later. I remember being excited that I would be working for a publisher in London. Although I had thought I would prefer to work for a book publisher, a play publisher was just as enjoyable.

Looking back now, not all first jobs turn out to be enjoyable. Some of my friends worked in supermarkets while they were at college just to earn a bit of money. I remember thinking how much happier I felt working in a clothes factory than in a supermarket.

Years later, I can see how good it is to experience work at an early age, as it gives people the opportunity to decide what kind of career will be most suitable for them one day. The boring task of a job will make a person want to pursue an education to get into the right type of employment, which was what I had realised in the end.

Like many young people, I dreamed of growing up and becoming a successful writer one day.

My first part-time job came when I was 18 years old. I was working in a paint factory. Because of the terrible smell of paint, it became normal for me to temporarily pass out during my lunch time.

I discovered content mills, where a writer could devote his time to writing soul-destroying online copy. It provided a little pay, but I wouldn't faint. So I quit my day job. But it is difficult to work from home. At times, I would lose all passion for writing 500 words about a bed for a few pounds, but the terrible smell of paint reminded me to get back to writing.

Several months later, the money got better. I was given consistent work writing for one of the largest entertainment websites in the world. The job was simple: I complained about everything that was wrong with society and they paid me £ 50 for each article. A guy from the website asked if would be interested in leaving my small town life to move to the big city of Manchester to become a professional writer for them. I accepted. After a pretty successful year, I was offered a promotion. Just 18 months earlier, I was suffering from the smell of paint on a daily basis and now I was managing a team of nine writers. I had come a long way.

When I was a child, my grandmother often said interpersonal communication mattered. She backed that up with her own behavior, and she invested her time and energy in interacting with people. When she walked down the street, she spoke to everyone, whether an elderly or a child, speaking whether English or Spanish.

However, as she aged, she noticed that most people wouldn't have time for communication that's longer than a 160-character text message, much less time to develop genuine friendships that last decades. In fact, people are barely speaking to one another nowadays. As much as I hate to admit it, I have noticed it too.

My grandmother opened my mind to having a pen pal on the other side of the world. It all started in 2013 when I was at University of Southern California. I met with Kerstin Zilm, a German radio personality who wanted to interview me about being a student struggling financially. I didn't know much about German culture or the German audience who would listen to the show, but I agreed to do so. I had internalized（使内在化）my grandmother's concept and I felt this was another way of communication and that speaking about my story was better than keeping it to myself. You never knew who could learn from your life experiences.

After the story aired, a woman named Renate reached out to Kerstin, inquiring how she could find me and help me financially with college. I was grateful, but my pride didn't allow me to accept the money.

However, I didn't let the opening halt. Encouraged by Kerstin, I emailed Renate back, thanking her for her kindness. This was the beginning of a beautiful intercontinental friend-ship. From then on, Renate and I often emailed each other. And whenever I was in trouble, she was always there. She sent me virtual hugs at the moments when I needed them most. Though I have never met her in person, she is one of the most important people in my life.