相关试卷

Figure out what being interesting means to you. What's interesting won't be the same for everybody. Knowing what you are interested in is essential to becoming capable of interacting with others in a way that might be seen as interesting.

Try out new activities to stretch your comfort zone. When you stretch your comfort zone, you get yourself out of a routine. You inject more excitement into your life. You meet new people. Be open to trying new activities so that you learn to be interesting.

Interact with people who you find interesting. Find people who have skills and interests that you admire. Remember that who you spend time with greatly affects how your personality and interests develop. Spheres (范围) of social influence, from your local community to your country, can affect you in some ways. Watching others who are interesting can be a great way to get you started in the right direction.

Learn to shake off disrespect from other people. Everyone has their own interests and manners of acting in the world. It will be impossible to make yourself seem interesting to everyone. Be happy with who you truly are. Accept that not everyone will find you interesting, or even necessarily like you.

A. Write down a list of your interests.

B. Find common interests with others.

C. Prioritize the time you spend with them.

D. Don't worry even if you're not interesting.

E. Experiment with new activities that might interest you.

F. Interesting people have a tendency to appeal to each other.

G. This can, in turn, make you interesting to those who admire your unique self.

"But most experts today agree that sleeping on the floor isn't necessarily the best option for any type of back discomfort," says Peter G. Whang, a professor at the Yale School of Medicine. "The floor is board-straight, while our spine (脊柱) has physiologic curves (生理性弯曲)." One such curve leaves space between the lower back and the floor. Lacking support, this curve flattens out over time, which can result in back pain. Moreover, without cushioning (缓冲) to support the shoulders, the upper back is often supported too high, which can cause joint rigidity (僵硬). Worse still, a hard floor create s pressure points in places like your hips and heels, which can restrict blood flow to those areas and potentially damage soft tissue.

So how did our ancestors maintain healthy backs while dreaming on the dirt for thousands of years? According to Daniel Lieberman, a Harvard University professor, hunter-gatherers slept on the ground from early childhood and may have built up a tolerance to its ill effects, unlike present-day people who try it for the first time as adults. Also ancient people got more physical activity throughout the day, which may have helped prevent pain despite ground sleeping.

So, if your back is giving you nightmares, the real solution could be replacing your worn-out mattress (床垫) instead of sleeping on the floor. The average American's bed is 10 years old, equal to about three years of sleep time. "No furniture will sustain that type of weight and abuse," says Bert Jacobson, a kinesiology professor at Oklahoma State University, whose research suggests that a new, firmer mattress reduced back pain by 47% — 63%.

An AI model can learn to imitate someone's voice based on about 30 seconds of speech. "It does this by creating something called an embedding. This is basically a series of numbers," says Zhiyuan Yu, a PhD student in computer science at Washington University, whose team built AntiFake.

People recognize voices by paying more attention to some frequencies of sound waves and less attention to other frequencies, but the AI model uses all frequencies to create good embeddings. AntiFake protects voice recordings by adding some noise to the frequencies people pay less attention to. That noise can mess up an AI model's ability to create a good embedding of the voice.

Yu's team picked 600 deepfake clips that fooled both human listeners and voice- authentication (语音认证) systems, and then added AntiFake protection to the 600 voice clips those deepfakes had been based on. Next, the scientists sent the protected files back through the five deepfake AI models. This time, over 95% of the new deepfake samples no longer tricked people or machines.

"This is an interesting and great new tool to defend against deepfakes," says Shimaa Ahmed, an expert who wasn't involved in building AntiFake. "However, if my voice is my job, I'd like to have my voice as it is."

"This is actually a problem we want to address in the future," Yu notes. Instead of adding noise, he thinks AntiFake could change the rhythm or tone of a voice. The voice would sound clear and unchanged to listeners. But it would contain carefully-hidden signals to trick deepfake AI models.

Then we worked out a plan: When Christie takes one of her children out, I'll watch her other three. And when she watches two of mine. I'll take someone out.

The children were extremely quick to accept the idea of "Mommy and Me" time. Christie's daughter, McKenzie, went first. When she returned, the other children showered her with tons of questions. McKenzie was smiling broadly. Christie looked refreshed and happy. "She's like a different child when there's no one else around," Christie shared with me quickly. With her mother all to herself, McKenzie didn't have to make an effort to gain attention.

Just as Christie had noticed changes in McKenzie, I also discovered something different in each of my children. For example, I am always surprised when my daughter, who is seldom close to me, holds my hand frequently. My stuttering (口吃的) son, Tom, doesn't stutter once during our activities since he doesn't have to struggle for a chance to speak. And another son, Sam, who's always a follower when around other children shines as a leader during our times together.

The "Mommy and Me" time allows us to be simply alone and away with each child-talking, sharing, and laughing, which has been the biggest gain. Every child deserves to be an only child at least once in a while.

Kakadu National Park, Australia

Although the Blue Mountains is Australia's most visited national park, Kakadu is the largest and wins hands-down for natural beauty and historical importance. It covers over 20,000 square kilometres, with waterfalls pouring into natural pools, vast wetlands and wildlife-filled places. Kakadu's highlight is one of the highest concentrations of rock art sites anywhere in the world.

Best time to visit: June to October

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Croatia's first national park in 1949 and now one of the country's most popular attractions. Plitvice Lakes is a waterworld of pools with changing colors, pouring waterfalls and interconnected watercourses. The lakes sit on two levels, and the surrounding woodland is visited by brown bears, wolves and lynx, with various trees alive with rare birds.

Best time to visit: Summer greens, fall golds and winter snows make Plitvice an ever-changing year-round destination

Vatnajokull National Park, Iceland

Here you'll find all the natural wonders that this island has become famous for— ice caves, waterfalls, and glaciers that can be hiked on. And most of these attractions can be accessed relatively easily off Iceland's Ring Road, four hours or so from Reykjavik. The Park was created in 2008 by joining together Jokulsargljufur and Skaftafell National Park to create a supersized area of over 12,000 square kilometres, making it the largest national park in Europe.

Best time to visit: Summer for hiking; winter for ice cave tours

Tongariro National Park, New Zealand

Tongariro National Park has two World Heritage roles for its cultural and natural significance. The Park's 19-kilometre Tongariro Alpine Crossing is also one of the best day hikes on the planet. It offers the chance to summit(登顶)an active volcano, hiking over burnt volcanic rock up to the Red Crater for impressive views.

Best time to visit: Summer gives the best chance of good weather; winter hikes are possible but increasingly unpredictable

In a small country school, there lived two close friends named Ray and Toby. Ray came from a wealthy family, while Toby's family struggled to make ends meet. Despite their differences, the two were inseparable and shared a deep bond of friendship. They spent countless hours together, whether it was playing games after school, helping each other with homework, or simply sharing stories under the shade of the old banyan tree.

On a sunny afternoon, Ray brought his precious stamp collection to school, eager to show Toby his latest treasure — a rare (稀有的) stamp gifted by his uncle. Toby, who had never seen such beautiful stamps before, stroked the stamps gently, his eyes wide with wonder. "Such an amazing collection This rare stamp is incredible, Ray!" He exclaimed with admiration. After school, Ray packed the stamps back into his schoolbag and returned home, his heart light with the joy of sharing his passion with his best friend.

However, the next morning, Ray's joy turned to panic when he discovered that the rare stamp was missing. He tore through his room, searching every corner and every book, but the stamp was nowhere to be found. His heart sank as a troubling thought crowded his mind — Toby was the only one who had got up close and personal with the stamps. Could he have taken it?

The next day at school, he confronted Toby with anger. "Did you take my stamp?" he asked directly, searching Toby's face for any sign of guilt. Toby, shocked by his questioning, replied with mixed feelings, "No, Ray! I would never take anything that belongs to you. You're my best friend."

But Ray, consumed by frustration and disappointment, couldn't let go of his doubts. "You were the only one who saw it," he said coldly. "If you hadn't taken it, then where could it be?" Deeply hurt by Ray's lack of trust, Toby turned away without another word, his heart heavy with the weight of the accusation (控诉).

The days that followed were filled with an uncomfortable silence between the two friends. They avoided each other, the once-strong bond damaged by the loss of the stamp.

注意：

1. 续写词数应为150左右；

2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Three days later, when Ray was tidying his desk, something dropped from his math textbook. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ray's sudden rushing toward him took Toby by surprise. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

内容需包括以下三个要点：

1．学习与兴趣爱好的平衡；

2．时间管理的方法；

3．对未来发展的初步思考。

注意：

1．词数80左右；

2．可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

3．开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。

Dear Wang Ming,

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

As teenagers grow up, they often face(conflict) with their parents. One common issue is about time(manage). For example, many parents complain that their children spend too much time on electronic devices instead of focusing on their studies. This leads to arguments parents and children. Sometimes, parents try to set strict rules(limit) screen time, may lead to disagreements. However, teenagers may feel controlled and become(anger). They argue that they need freedom to manage their own time. On the other hand, parents believe that is necessary to set rules to help their children develop good habits. Communication is the key to(solve) these problems. Both sides need to listen to each other patiently. Parents should try to understand their children's feelings, and teenagers should also respect their parents' concerns. they communicate openly, they can build better relationship. Remember, a happy family requires efforts from both parents and children.

My attention was focused on the thin little boy. He was4 a lovely smile, something that repeatedly5 my conscience (良知) — he should not be dying. To6 my own pain, I told myself that perhaps he wasn't aware of his7.

Still in a state of8, I asked him some more related questions in a9 voice. The boy tickled (称呼) me "Doctor Uncle", and he said, "I see you are10. Don't feel sorry for me. I know I have a big disease and soon I'd be a star in the sky."

Hearing what he said, I wanted to scream: dying is no11. The pain is almost unbearable. Trying hard to keep tears in my eyes, I asked if he had a dream before12 a star. He thought for a second and answered: an ice cream.

I13 to the store immediately and bought two.14, he was able to have a treat of his lifetime. After eating them, he told me, "Doctor Uncle, you are my Genie (神)!"

I did not know if I had done anything unusual to be15 a Genie, but I knew one thing: if that is how I could be one, I wanted to be a Genie for more.

Sure, you and your friends probably have some similar interests, but that's not always the case. In an effort to keep everyone happy, go over travel plans and expectations ahead of time. Have each person categorize activities or sights into "must-see", "want to see" and "would go if we have time". Plan accordingly and make sure everyone can see some of their top attractions.

Communicate and respect each other. Everyone has personal preferences when travelling— from getting the bed closest to the bathroom or sitting in the airplane's window seat. But sometimes things don't go as you like. In this case, share your requirements directly with your travel companions. Have a conversation when problems arise, for communication is the key.

Don't disappear. When travelling with a group — or even just one other person — you may want some alone time. That's completely fine, but make sure your friends know where you are and have a way of contacting you.

Get off your phone. Of course, your friends will understand if you need to take a call from a family member, or in the event of a work emergency, but other than that, try to stay off your phone. After all, the appeal of this type of trip is to spend time with friends. Just enjoy it!

A. Give each other some space.

B. Include at least one activity for everyone.

C. So it's important to make sure you and your friend(s) are on the same page.

D. At the same time, listen to their concerns and be respectful of them.

E. Don't respond to less important work contact or send messages frequently.

F. It's especially true of travelling in foreign countries or unfamiliar places.

G. And remember that consideration and respect go a long way.

For starters, exercise is typically futile for weight loss. Take walking for example. A 150-pound person who walks for 30 minutes will burn, on average, around 140 calories. That's equal to one can of soda — not exactly a great return on your investment of time and effort. It's much easier just to skip the soda.

When exercise is added to a diet, the results are equally unimpressive. Researchers found that a combination of dieting and exercising produced no greater weight loss than dieting alone after six months. At 12 months, the diet-and-exercise combination showed an advance, but it was slight — about 4 pounds on average.

In studies where exercise has produced meaningful weight loss, participants burned at least 400 to 500 calories per session on five or more days a week. To achieve that, a 150-pound person would need to walk a minimum of 90 minutes or run 30 minutes per day. In short, sessions need to go well beyond what most of us are willing or able to do. And even if we manage to make that much effort, our bodies often compensate (弥补) by boosting desire for food and slowing down metabolism (新陈代谢), which over time limit how many pounds we lose.

When exercise fails to meet our weight-loss expectations, we often stop working out. Perhaps the biggest problem with exercising to drop pounds is that it turns physical activity into punishment — a price we have to pay for a slimmer body. How many times have you heard someone say "I'll need to do extra exercise" after eating too much? We treat exercise as a form of self-punishment for being "bad". In this case, we' re unlikely to keep doing it for very long. The conclusion is that we're more likely to treat exercise positively and actually do it when we focus on our well-being rather than our weight.

Having dyslexia (阅读障碍), Kevin left school at a young age and then managed to support himself by taking odd jobs. In his mid-30s, Kevin finally landed an opportunity for a job with some promise: working for a sheriff's department (治安部门). Amazingly, when he came clean with them about his education, they said they'd hire him as long as he got his GED. He agreed, optimistic about this new career potential, and kind of excited about giving school another chance.

Kevin studied with a tutor (家庭教师), and he did it for more than a decade, learning and practicing and correcting his mistakes, every free moment he had, often late into the night. It was a huge challenge, something Kevin compares to"climbing a mountain."In fact, as Kevin took tests along the way, he did something interesting with each of his results. He posted them on his bedroom wall so that he could watch his progress."I needed to see myself moving forward, and I wanted to speak,"he said.

Finally, he made it."I can't really describe what it's like to finally achieve this,"he said."I can hardly even put it into words. People are giving me graduation gifts! It's a dream come true."

This might sound like a perfect ending. But for Kevin, it's a new beginning. He's on a roll, and his next step is college. "Now that I've accomplished my GED, I'm hungry for education,"he said.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Charles Duhigg explores how habits shape our lives. Using real-life examples, he presents how understanding the "habit loop" can help improve health, productivity, and relationships. This book offers practical strategies for making lasting changes that lead to remarkable results.

503 pages, 4.27 out of 5 stars

The Book of Joy by Emma Green and John Reynolds

In this delightful book, Emma Green, a respected life coach, and John Reynolds, a renowned psychologist, share insights into finding lasting happiness. Their engaging conversations, filled with wisdom and humor, offer a road map to living a joyful life despite challenges.

291 pages, 4.51 out of 5 stars

Educated by Tara Westover

Educated is a powerful memoir (回忆录) that tells the story of Tara Westover, who was raised in a poor rural area and had no formal education until the age of 17. Her determination to educate herself and her journey to earning a PhD from Cambridge University are both inspiring and thought-provoking.

464 pages, 4.19 out of 5 stars

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Nora Seed finds herself in a magical library where she has the chance to explore different lives she could have lived through each book learning valuable lessons. This imaginative novel is perfect for readers who enjoy stories about second chances and self-discovery.

368 pages, 4.15 out of 5 stars

It was my twelfth birthday, and what I really wanted was a new bicycle. But I knew that my family couldn't afford one. A new bike was just a dream, so I was forced to accept a bedside table with lockable drawers. At least I would have a safe place to keep my private stuff.

We went to a charity shop, where we found an old dark one among the donated items. It didn't look too cool, but I thought that I would paint it to make it look better.

After we took it home, I was getting ready to paint it. When I pulled the drawers out, I felt something stuck to the back. I reached in all the way, and guess what? A sealed bag with some papers in it.

When I opened the bag, I realized that the papers were official documents. And, wrapped in them were a bunch of ten-dollar and twenty-dollar bills! Talk about finding a treasure! And on my birthday!

"Is this some kind of joke?" I said aloud. I went ahead and read the papers, and it turned out to be a will. Some old lady was leaving her savings for her son and grandchildren.

My mind was going crazy. Was I the luckiest twelve-year-old ever? With this money I could buy the coolest bicycle. Who knows?

I began counting. When I reached a thousand dollars, my mother was knocking on my bedroom door. I quickly closed the drawer with the money in it.

"Do you want some help? Is everything all right?" she asked.

No, everything was not right. Actually, my stomach was growling.

"I'm okay," I lied.

When my mother left my room, I lay on my bed, starting thinking. What a dilemma! I wished there were someone I could talk with. Could I keep it and get all kinds of stuff for me and my family? It wouldn't be too bad for me to keep it, if I shared it... right? Thoughts ran through my mind.

注意：

1. 续写词数应为150左右；

2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

I finally made a decision and called my parents into my bedroom.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Though surprised, the shop owner helped find the family's telephone number.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1.表示祝贺；

2.提出建议。

注意：

1.写作词数应为80左右；

2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Dear Xiaoming,

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

According to recent studies, it seems that the workplace is about to witness massive changes. Generally, it（anticipate）that such changes are likely to include a more automated workplace. This will result in the loss of certain jobs, especially those involving intense physical labour. Additionally, to keep up with new technologies, greater emphasis will need to be placed on（continue）training, which will get employees out of their comfort zone. Therefore, progress in the workplace will not necessarily mean（promote）to superior positions, but rather being moved sideways so that employees' individual skills can be best used to meet a（company）changing needs.

Besides, more importance will be attached to "soft skills". Currently, heavy focus is put on training in "hard skills", such as machine operating and software programming. However, in the future, employers will look to hire people（commit）to learning. As a result, employees will need to attain excellent soft skills such as communication,（cooperate）and leadership. Despite that, any prejudice either of the two skills will not be allowed.

We are fond of these changes or not, we will need to face them. We can survive and even succeed in the workplace of the future if we keep our passion for work,（effective）interact with co-workers and sharpen our ability to adapt.

Legally blind and born with a rare condition causing her eyes to shift constantly, she couldn't see well. Her mom2 that she was fearless, so she signed Lola up for gymnastics when she was three. She loved the3 right away and gymnastics became her favorite. Learning gymnastics has been more difficult for her, but she doesn't let her4 stop her from doing whatever she wants to.

She likes the determination it takes to do the sport. Her biggest5 is the balance beam. Because of her double vision, she must use her sense of6 to help her during her routine. "You have to7 your mind that it'll take you where you want to go." says Lola.

To be a top-level gymnast, one must be brave. The beam is probably the most8 for anyone because it's four inches wide. Lola doesn't want to be9 differently from others. At the competitions, the judges don't know about her vision10, because she doesn't think they need to know, which11 her mom.

Lola never thinks about12. And her13 is to reach level 9 in gymnastics and to be a gymnastics coach.14 of all her hard work and success, she says it's helped her overcome problems in her life outside gymnastics, too. Her15 for others is "just believe yourself".

You can't use the 80/20 rule to your advantage unless you know what it is you want to focus on. How do you cut out all the background noise and zero in on that 20% that's going to make an extraordinary difference in your life?

Your purpose is the foundation of everything in your life or in your business. It's that important. Your purpose could be something like having more time with your family, the freedom to live life on your terms, or the money to travel the world. In business, your purpose is your company vision. It's the reason you started the business in the first place.

Write down five things you could start doing today to help you get to live your purpose. Then prioritize them by how fast they will get you to your goal. The top item — the most meaningful — is your first priority.

You're not done yet. Priorities are nice, but they're not enough to get you over the finish line. You need to create SMART goals: steps you can take that are specific, measurable, Achievable, Realistic and set within a Time Frame. These specific action items are the real 20% of the 80/20 rule — the things you'll spend 20% of your time doing that will generate the best results.

A. Now it's time to get more specific.

B. It explains why focusing on key tasks matters.

C. Rank your purposes by the level of importance.

D. You can apply the principle to your personal goals.

E. Then you need to hold yourself accountable for them.

F. Follow this equation: Purpose + Priority = Productivity.

G. If you don't know your purpose, you can't create goals or take action.

For example, they can find a description of a Neanderthal suffering from severe disabilities along with evidence of the challenges faced, as noted in the archaeological (考古的) record, under the heading "Did anyone care if someone was ill or weak?"

Dr Penny Spikins, from the University of York's Department of Archaeology, said: "The web resource challenges our perceptions of the past as competitive, populated only by the strong, towards a more realistic version of prehistory in which individuals cared for each other, and where the support of weaknesses and differences made humans successful."

Research has shown that it is during teenage years that complex emotional capacities and capacities for complex moral judgments develop. Archaeologists at York investigated whether these complex emotions could be better understood if schools could help young people explore where some of our emotional processes came from.

Dr Spikins said: "Findings related to cultural practices suggest that Neanderthals had a system of caring for their sick and injured, as well as women who needed help in childbirth. This sort of care would have meant difficult strategic, as well as emotional, decisions had to be made, which impacted on an individual's relationship with others and ultimately their survival as a species."

"This made us wonder whether challenging the assumption that our evolutionary past was defined by uncaring behaviors, would make us think differently about how we understand the decisions we make that impact on our own personal health and well-being today. In many ways talking about the distant past can also provide a safe place in which to discuss how complicated and difficult our emotions can be."

"One million years ago it would have been so much easier for a group of early humans to abandon a woman with severe disabilities. We know, however, that they were prepared to risk being attacked by predators (捕食性动物) to look after her."

"We hope that this resource will task young people with asking — why? — and give them a chance to think about what this tells us about human life today."

"Creative imagination" is what we normally consider to be creativity with a large C. And there are two phases to creative imagination. "Divergent thinking" is the ability to think of a wide variety of ideas, all somehow connected to a main problem or topic. It is supported by intuitive   (直觉的) thinking, which is fast and automatic. You then need "convergent thinking" to help you evaluate the ideas for usefulness within the main problem or topic. This process is supported by analytical thinking — which is slow and deliberate — allowing us to select the right idea.

For many people, the ability to become completely absorbed by an idea is key to finalizing a successful, creative project. For that you need something scientists call "fantastical imagination", which describes your tendency to have highly vivid fantasies and level of absorption in imaginary worlds.

However, given that one's fantastic imagination can increase daydreaming and tends to increase as a response to painful events by becoming an escape from reality, it may not seem like a desirable ability to have, at first glance. There are benefits, however. Fantasy engagement in children is associated with increased creative imagination. For adults, it may help improve creative problem-solving and planning.

"Episodic imagination" is similar to fantastic imagination but mainly makes use of real memory details rather than imaginary details when visualizing events in our mind's eye.

This helps individuals to better imagine alternative pasts and learn from their mistakes, or imagine their futures and prepare for them. Research shows that individuals with a higher capacity for visual imagery experience more sensory details when imagining their future.

Though many self-improvement books claim "imagine it and it will happen", this is actually the opposite of what you should be doing. The best preparation for the future is to imagine the process — not the outcome — of your desired future event. One study showed that when students imagined desired outcomes (good grades for an upcoming test) they performed significantly worse than students who imagined the process of getting to the desired outcomes (imagining studying thoroughly). Perhaps now you have something to keep in mind for your New Year's resolutions?