黑龙江省大庆市名校2022-2023学年高一上学期期末考试英...

One of the improv (即兴表演) classes I attended regularly was taught by Jim Cranna every Saturday afternoon. Sometimes, as many as twenty-five to sixty-plus folks showed up. Jim made sure to fit everyone in so they could improve their skills.

The class lasted for three hours. The usual cast of comic actors played improv comedy games. And we would go to the nearest mini market located in the building and get a snack or coffee during breaks. One day three of us were standing outside the building, when Robin Williams - an internationally famous actor and comic walked by, enjoying the fresh bay air. Completely frozen, my fellow comics couldn't summon up the courage to just say "hi" to Robin, who was with a friend. I froze for a moment, but then I composed myself. I told them, "Hey, if you guys can't handle it, then I will ask him to come and join us for the second half of class. " I could hear them mumble under their breath, "Yeah, sure, right. You're going to ask Robin Williams to come to our comedy class. Good luck with that one!"

So I went up to Robin and his friend and asked him to join us. "We're having an improv comedy class. We're on break now, but we would be most humbled and honored if you would join us for the second half of the class. "Robin looked directly in my eyes and said with little hesitation, "Okay. "It was like a grown-up child being asked to come and play. With that, he and his friend followed me up to the class.

When he saw Robin, Jim said, "Oh my goodness, look who Micheline is bringing to class. " Jim's eyes were all reddening in astonishment and delight. "Why, it's Robin Williams!" Robin and his friend stayed the rest of the class and at the end of the classes, Robin and Jim performed a skit (滑稽短剧). We actually watched him shape-shift as he prepared physically and mentally for his made-up character. He gave it his all. It was truly magical.

What a delight for all of us that Saturday afternoon! All I know is that if I hadn't mustered up the courage to ask Robin to join us, none of us would have had that experience.

For Schultz, a 77-year-old man, this is a chance of a lifetime. Schultz is part of a group of around 50 Germans who are on a bus journey along the ancient Silk (丝绸) Road.

Speaking of his journey, he says: "I have been deeply interested in the Silk Road since I was a child, but now I finally have a chance to experience (体验) it. "

The two-month bus journey will take the group through Germany, Russia, and other 4 European countries. They will then enter China from the country's western part. It will be an unforgettable memory for them.

Nearly half of the 13,000-kilometer trip will be inside China. From Xinjiang in the west to Shanghai in the east, the German visitors will see more than 20 Chinese cities. "We have managed the trip of the Silk Road for around 10 years. An increasing number of people, not only from German-speaking countries, have been joining us," says Liu Guoqiang from China Tours.

Almost 26 million foreigners traveled to China in 2015, and about 5 million of them were from Europe. Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai and the Changjiang River are traditional Chinese travel destinations for European tourists. Speaking of where he wants to go, Schultz says, "Compared with modern cities, the culture in western China attracts me more.

As Shi Xiang, head of the China Tours, says, "Being a new brand (品牌) to attract foreign visitors, the Silk Road is good for people to know more about China, especially the northwestern part of the country. "

During the pandemic, millions of people replaced their large open-plan offices with their living rooms. Now, some companies say their employees need never come back in.

Brynn Harrington, Vice President of Facebook, said, "Facebook believes that remote work is the future. We want to be able to give our employees choice to live and build lives in places that they love, and we want to increase our ability to hire from places around the world, not just places where we currently have offices. "

Not everyone approves of working from home. Some people are eager to get back into the office. Facebook estimates that more than half of its staff could work remotely in the coming years, but it insists the move is not about saving costs. And it says it's committed to keeping its offices open.

Other tech giants such as Microsoft and Twitter have also indicated staff could stay remote — even after lockdowns ease. On Wall Street, they seem less enthusiastic about the idea. The boss of Goldman Sachs rejected working from home as a new normal — labelling it an "aberration" instead. There are also fears that it could create more inequality.

For many companies, the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle — with workers dividing their time between office and home.

Tushar Agarwal from Hubble said, "The office does have a future. We believe the future is hybrid (混合). We believe the future is flexible. The demand for flexible workspace has just gone through the roof. Just in the month of March, we're back to about sixty to seventy percent of pre-Covid levels, and actually huge amounts of companies that are demanding flexible space used to be in traditional rent space, so now people want more and more flexibility than ever before. "

One thing's clear — the world of work will look very different to how it did before this crisis.

Americans are proud of their variety and individuality (个性), yet they love and respect few things more than a uniform, whether it is the uniform of a lift operator or the uniform of a five-star general(将军).

Among the arguments for uniforms, one of the first is that in the eyes of most people they look more professional than civilian (百姓的) clothes. People expect higher quality from a man who wears a uniform. Faith in the skill of a garage mechanic is increased by a uniform. What easier way is there for a nurse, a policeman, a hairdresser, or a waiter to lose professional identity (职业身份) than to step out of uniform?

They are often more comfortable and more lasting than civilian clothes.

Among the arguments against uniforms is their lack of variety and the loss of individuality experienced by people who must wear them. Though there are many types of uniforms, the wearer of any particular type is generally stuck with it, without change, until retirement.

Though they are long-lasting, often their initial(最初的) expense is greater than the cost of civilian clothes. Some uniforms are also expensive to maintain, requiring professional dry cleaning rather than the home laundering possible with many types of civilian clothes.

A. Americans think highly of uniforms.

B. Why are uniforms so popular in the United States?

C. When people wear the same uniforms, they are likely to think, speak, and act similarly on the job at least.

D. Uniforms also have many practical good points

E. Some practical problems with uniforms arise.

F. The television repairman who wears a uniform is likely to inspire more trust than one who appears in civilian clothes.

G. People's identity can be recognized more easily by their uniforms

In 2007, a group of researchers began testing a concept that seems as if it would never need testing: Is more happiness always better than less? The researchers asked college students to rate their feelings on a scale from "unhappy" to "very happy" and compared the results with academic and social outcomes. Although the "very happy" participants had brilliant social lives, they performed 1 in school than those who were merely "happy".

The researchers then examined a data set from another study that rated college freshmen's "cheerfulness" and 2 their income nearly two decades later. They found that the most 3 were not the highest earners. That distinction (荣誉) once again went to the second-highest group, which rated their cheerfulness as "above average. "

As with everything in life, happiness has its 4. Pursuing happiness to the exclusion of other goals-known as psychological hedonism (享乐主义)—is5. It gives a life where you do not reach your full potential, where you are 6 to take risks, where you choose temporary pleasures over challenging experiences that give life meaning.

When I talk with people about their fear of negative outcomes in life, their true source of fear, in many cases, 7 how they will feel about having failed, not about the consequence of the failure itself. This is similar to the way that discomfort with 8 causes more anxiety than guaranteed bad news. To 9 these bad feelings, people give up kinds of opportunities that involve the possibility of failure.

However, bringing good things into your life, whether love or career success, usually involves risk. Risk does not, of course, 10 make us happy. A risky life will very likely bring disappointment, but it can bring greater 11 than a life played safe, as the studies above suggested.

None of this is to say that we are foolish for wanting to be happy. 12, the desire for happiness is natural and normal. Making the pursuit of positive feelings your highest or only goal, however, is a costly life strategy. Endless happiness is impossible to achieve, and doing so 13 many of the elements of a good life. As the Canadian-American psychologist Paul Bloom wrote, "It's the 14we choose that affords the most opportunity for pleasure, meaning, and personal growth."

Though pain should never be anyone's goal, each of us can strive for a rich life in which we not only seek the sunshine but fully 15 the rain that inevitably falls as well. This is the paradox (悖论) of being fully alive.

To Be Joyful, To Be Young

What really works to make sustainable changes in diet and lifestyle? It's probably not what you think. In the past 30 years of conducting clinical research, I(learn) that real keys are pleasure, joy and freedom. Joy of living is sustainable; fear of dying is not.

Why? Because life is to be enjoyed. There's no point(abandon) something you enjoy unless you get something back that's even better, and quickly. When people eat more healthfully,(quit) smoking, and manage stress better, they find they feel so much better, so quickly. It reconstructs the reason for making these changes from fear of dying to joy of living.

When you exercise and eat right, your brain receives more blood flow and oxygen, so you become smarter, have more energy, and need less sleep. Two studies showed just walking for three hours per week for only three months caused so many neurons(神经细胞) (grow) that it actually increased the size of people's brains!

Your face receives more blood flow, so your skin glows more and wrinkles less. You look younger and more attractive. In contrast, an unhealthy diet, lasting emotional stress and smoking reduce blood flow to your face you age more quickly. Smoking speeds up aging because nicotine contributes to your blood vessel becoming narrower,decreases blood flow to your face and makes it wrinkle prematurely. This is why smokers look years older than they really are.

One of the most interesting findings was that the mothers' awareness of stress was more important than was objectively occurring in their lives. (give) a questionnaire, the women were asked to rate on a three-point scale how stressed they felt each day. The women who realized they were under heavy stress had significantly shortened and damaged telomeres(染色体端粒) compared with who felt more relaxed. Contrarily, some of the women who felt relaxed raising a disabled child had more normal-appearing telomeres.

In other words, if you feel stressed, you are stressed.

My little sister, Donna, turned six, and she started copying whatever I did — every move!

"What are you doing?" she asked my friend Maya and me one Saturday morning.

"We're making earrings," Maya said, pointing to a photo in the craft page of her magazine.

Donna plopped (扑通) down next to us at the table. "May I make one too?" "Um… " I paused.

"Sure!" Maya said. Donna squeezed in so close to me that I could hardly see what I was doing.

"Can you give me a little more room? You are blocking me from the beads. "I said a little angrily.

"I'm just trying to see what you're doing." Donna said.

"Well, you don't need to see exactly what I'm doing." I told her. "You can make your own design just over there, Donna."

"I am!" she said. She was using the same colors of beads and string and everything that I was using.

Having finished the earrings, Maya suggested we get her guitar to make up songs for our band.

"An excellent idea!" I said. "Let's go to the backyard where we can have some privacy."

When Donna didn't say anything, I thought she must have understood what I meant. Nevertheless, 10 minutes later, she showed up before me.

"Sorry I'm late, but I couldn't find my tambourine (铃鼓)." said Donna. "It was in the basket that my Hello Kitty was sleeping in. Isn't that so funny? Maybe, we should invite Kitty to be in our band!"

"Our band?" I asked. "Since when is this our band? You're constantly following me like a shadow, and I'm so tired of it. Please leave me alone, OK?"

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。

Hearing what I said, Donna got a super-surprised look.

……

I came up with a plan that I hoped would help.

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Dear Sir or Madam,

……

Sincerely yours,

Li Hua