B

A Dream Chaser in a Wheelchair

Since the age of three, Chelsie Hill had dreamed of becoming a dancer. That ambition nearly ended in 2010 when Hill was in a car accident, which put the 17- year-old high school senior in hospital for 51 days and left her paralyzed from the waist down. For most people, that would have destroyed any hope of a dancing career. But for Hill, it was the beginning. Far from being a barrier, her wheelchair encouraged her to fight. “I want to prove to everyone including myself that I'm still normal,” she said, \ means.\

Normal for her meant dancing, so Hill did it in her wheelchair alongside her nondisabled high school dance team. Half of her body was taken away from her, so she had to move it with her hands. It took much learning and patience.

After graduation from high school, Hill wanted to expand her dance network to include women like her. She met people online who were fighting for the dream of dancing against various spinal(脊椎的)injuries, and invited them to dance with her. To reach more people in a larger city, Hill moved to Los Angeles in 2014 and formed a team of dancers with disabilities she called the Rollettes.

Every year Hill holds a dance camp called the Rollettes Experience for wheelchair users to help them bring out their acting talent. In 2019, 173 participants from ten countries attended. For many, it was the first time they'd felt they belonged. Edna Serrano said that being part of the Rollettes team gave her the courage to get behind the wheel of a car. “I didn't know I could do so many things that my fellow teammates had taught me.” she said. “I didn't know I could be sexy. It's so powerful to have my teammates in my life, because they're my teachers. I have more confidence.”

Chelsie Hill attained what many of us never will: her childhood dream. She has been chasing her dream in the wheelchair. She's a dancer. The Rollettes have

5

helped her find something else just as fulfilling.

34. What happened to Chelsie Hill in 2010?

A. She last her hope of dancing. B. She suffered from a serious disease.

C. She realized her dream of becoming a dancer. D. She was severely disabled due to a car accident. 35. Why did Chelsie Hill set up the Rollettes in 2014?

A. To expand her social network. B. To enlarge her dance business. C. To seek more chances to dance. D. To motivate more people like her.

36. What change did the Rolleltes Experience bring to Edna Serrano?

A. She could help others. B. She had more faith in herself. C. She learned how to drive. D. She became sexier than before.

37. Which of the following words can best describe Chelsie Hill?

A. Modest and professional. B. Responsible and creative. C. Determined and inspiring. D. Cooperative and generous.

C

In the first few years of their lives, children brought up in English-speaking homes successfully master the use of hundreds of words, including those for objects, actions, emotions, and many other aspects of the physical world. However, when it comes to learning colour words, the same children perform very badly. If shown a blue cup and asked about its colour, typical two-year-olds seem as likely to come up with “red” as “blue”.

Cognitive (认知) scientists at Stanford University in California supposed that children’s incompetence at colour-word learning may be directly linked to the way these words are used in English. They are used mostly in pre-nominal position (e.g. “blue cup”), in contrast to post-nominal position (e.g. “The cup is blue.”). The difficulty children have may simply come down to the challenge of having to make

predictions from colour words to the objects they refer to, rather than from the

objects to the colour words.

To explore this idea further, the research team recruited 40 English children aged between 23 and 29 months and carried out a three-phase experiment. It considered of a pre-test, followed by training in the use of colour words, and finally a post-test that was identical to the pre-test. The pre- and post- test materials comprised six objects that were unfamiliar to the children. There were three examples of each object in each of three colours — red, yellow and blue. The objects were presented on trays (托盘), and in both tests, the children were asked to pick out objects in response to requests in which the colour word was either a pre-nominal (“Which is the red one?”) or a post-nominal (“Which one is red?”).

In the training, the children were introduced to five sets of familiar items (balls, cups, crayons, glasses, and toy bears) in each of the three colours. Half the children were presented with the items one by one and heard them labeled with

colour words used pre-nominally, while the other half were introduced to the same

items described with a post-nominal colour word. After the training, the children repeated the selection task on the novel items in the post-test. Correct choices on items that were consistent across the pre- and post-tests were used to measure children’s colour knowledge.

6

According to the assessment, children’s performance was consistent when they were both trained and tested on post-nominal adjectives, and worst when trained on pre-nominal adjectives and tested on post-nominal adjectives. Comparing the pre- and post-test scores across each condition revealed a significant decline in performance when children were both pre- and post-tested with questions that placed the colour words pre-nominally. 38. What is the purpose of Paragraph 2?

A. To present a phenomenon. B. To make a contrast.

C. To give a possible explanation. D. To provide an example.

39. What can we learn about the experiment from the passage?

A. The children had to place the pre-and post-test objects onto coloured trays. B. The children were presented with the same objects in the pre- and post- tests.

C. Pre-nominal questions were less used than post-nominal questions in the training.

D. The researchers aimed to look for consistencies in children’s knowledge of word order. 40. What does the underlined word “novel” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A. Imaginary. B. Unknown. C. Familiar. D. Common. 41. The outcome of the experiment shows that . A. children are unable to accurately sort objects by colour B. children trained on pre-nominal adjectives perform well C. children learn colour words rapidly in post-nominal position

D. children can make predictions from the objects to the colour words

D

In the picture Landscape with Diogenes by the 17th century French artist Poussin, the ancient philosopher Diogenes is described casting away his last possession, a drinking bowl. He realizes he doesn’t need it after seeing a youth cupping a hand to drink from a river. The significance for us is that Diogenes’ spiritual descendants (后代) known as “new minimalists” are now everywhere, if not as completely possession-free as he was.

There are hundreds of websites praising the virtues of tidy living. Everyone is trying to cut down on things these days. People are trying to reduce their carbon footprints, their waistlines, and their monthly outgoings. What’s more, there’s a general fear that people are becoming choked by their possessions, and this is fueled by the knowledge that the leading hobby these days seems to be shopping. It’s true, sales of e-readers and e-books go beyond those of paperbacks. As a result, the need for bookshelves is cut out.

However, today’s new minimalists don’t urge us to burn our books and destroy our CDs, but just make sure we have them as digital files. So, for example, I have digitised versions of some of my old vinyl LP (黑胶) records and haven’t, as yet, stimulated myself to take the LPs to the nearest charity shop – and I admit I shall probably go on keeping them. Technology has gone beyond our dreams and there is always the doubt that our hard drives will crash and all will be lost. Far more important, however, is the fact that our memories are so inseparably tied to our possessions that we can’t get rid of stuff. We are not exactly suffering withdrawal symptoms (症状) as we try to break our addiction to objects. We are just acquiring new stuff, which means we can bin or recycle our old stuff.

I’m happy to have found another website which seems to solve a whole lot of problems at once – a thriving online advice service offering storage solutions. The interior (室内的) designer responsible for this does not suggest getting rid of stuff, but rather recommends buying more stuff such as elegant flexible baskets or colourful lidded containers to hide the first lot of stuff from view. I love this

7

philosophy – convince yourself you’ve got your desire for possessions under control, without having to lose a thing. After all, we aren’t merciless enough to follow Diogenes and cast away all our possessions.

42. Why does the author mention a picture by the artist Poussin?

A. It illustrates a modern trend. B. It describes a wise philosopher. C. Its meaning is only now becoming clear. D. Its message is not as simple as it appears.

43. The author believes minimalism may not succeed mainly because of people’s

.

A. resistance to media pressure B. laziness in the face of change C. lack of faith in digital hardware D. strong bond with physical objects

44. According to the author, people invest in smart new storage in order to . A. satisfy their desire to make purchases B. make attractive additions to their homes

C. provide a temporary solution to a problem

D. ease their conscience over having too many things.

45. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Less is More

B. Low Carbon Is an Attitude C. Treasure What You Have D. Psychology of Overconsumption.

第二节（共 5 小题；每小题 2 分，共 10 分）

(49) Parents wishing to help their children enjoy greater happiness

can focus on small changes they can make in their day-to-day lives to create

根据短文内容，从短文后的七个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

more positive moments. Parents do not need to aim for intense experiences or “best day ever” for their children. Although peak experiences can be fun, they also tend to be tiring for both children and their parents, which can lead to anxiety and conflict.

Currently, Coffey and other researchers are exploring when and why some children are happier than others or whether we can increase it. Happiness during infancy and childhood is predicted by relationships with caregivers and teachers or by learning new skills. Inexpensive and easy-to-do activities like practising acts of kindness or appreciation can boost happiness. (50) Happier Babies Have an Edge

Parents and teachers want children to grow up to be happy and successful. (46) A wide range of research, however, indicates happiness brings

success in adults, and achievements do not always make adults happier. Recently in new study, John K. Coffey II, assistant professor of psychology at Sewanee, the University of the South, found that happiness during infancy (婴儿期) predicted childhood IQ and adult educational success.

In his 29-year study, Coffey used the Fullerton Longitudinal Study (FLS). In 1978 the FLS research team recruited 130 parents with babies for a study that now has run for more than 30 years. (47) When each baby was 18 months old, one parent reported how often his or her baby expressed positive and negative emotions and researchers measured the infant’s IQ. When babies were children (ages 6 to 8), they completed IQ tests. When babies had grown into 29-year-old adults, they reported how many years of education they had completed and their life satisfaction.

As expected, Coffey found that regardless of intelligence during infancy or parents’ wealth, happier babies were more likely to graduate from high school and college. (48) It suggests that happier babies learn more between infancy and childhood.

A. We often think that achieving success will ultimately make us happy. B. We can use these activities to help children grow into happy and successful

adults.

C. To test his theory, Coffey looked at how intensely children’s emotions are

experienced.

D. These happy babies aren’t just growing up to be successful, but they are

also happy adults.

E. Further, happier babies had more growth in their IQ scores between infancy

and childhood.

F. Another important clarification is that happiness is about how often

emotions are experienced.

G. Early on, parents reported on their background, for instance, education level

and employment.

8