When Warren Buffett was asked about the secret to his wealth and success, he said that he read every day—500 pages. Unfortunately, if you’re already working 9-5, you might not have the time to read at all, let alone an entire book a day. But what if you could get the benefits of reading without sacrificing all of your free time? You can! With the Blinkist app, you get the key learning from the best notification books in minutes, not hours or days. Our experts transform these books into quick, memorable, easy-to-understand insights. Start with the 3 most-read titles on self-improvement and see if you don’t feel a little more satisfied already.
1. Thirteen Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin
12min
Read it on Blinklst
You can’t escape misfortune in life. But you can change how you respond it. Do you struggle to get over your failures? Or talk a lot about things out of your control? Getting over these obstacles can have a very great influence on your everyday life. Morin shares how her most successful therapy patients overcame these difficulties.
2. How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie
19min
Read it on Blinklst
How would you feel it someone told you on Sunday evening that, come Monday morning, you would be thrown into a torture chamber（刑讯室）? Would you worry? Probably. But there would be a way to deal with those worries. Ever wondered why you can’t stop worrying about something? No matter how hard you try, are you always thinking and talking on the same issue? By defining the source of your stress, you can get over it once and for all. Carnegie came up with a timeless formula that helps you handle any overthinking situation.
3. How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth and Karen Dillon
13min
Read it on Blinklst
What do you think would make you happier at work? Perhaps a little more pay might be nice, or maybe some more admiration from fellow colleagues. Are you making the right trade-offs in life? While career achievements can be satisfying, neglecting your family and friends can be harmful in the long-run – in ways you can’t even imagine.
1.You can read these books ________according to this passage.
A. by buying them B. in the reading room
C. on the Blinkist app D. in the library
2.Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Morin shares hoe her patients overcame these difficulties in her book.
B. Carnegie came up with a way to help you handle any overthinking situation.
C. The secret to Buffett’s wealth and success is that he read every day.
D. Reading “How Will You Measure Your Life?” only spends you 19min on the app.
3.Where can you find this article?
A. In a magazine. B. On a website
C. In a guidebook D. In a newspaper
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
Anaya Elick was born without hands – she has stubs（残端）where most people’s wrists begin.
To hold a pencil, she must balance it between her wrists, then use her arms to push it along the page. But that didn’t sop her from winning a national handwriting contest when she was in first grade.
In the two years since, she has taken on greater challenges. Last week, she won another national handwriting contest, this one for cursive（草书）. And by all accounts from her teachers at Greenbrier Christian Academy, she has become an accomplished artist.
Anaya isn’t one to boast about her successes. She unwillingly says they make her proud but adds that they come from “lots of practice.”
Her friends at school said, “She inspires everybody by what she does and how she does it” child to fail, and raising one who was born with a disability can heighten that protective instinct.
Before Anaya was born, doctors knew about her condition, although not its cause. Other than having no hands, she is a regular 9-year-old girl.
Anaya succeeds because she is not afraid to fail, Middleton said. The two began practicing cursive last year, when Anaya was in second grade. She struggled sometimes, because unlike traditional penmanship, which allows for breaks after each letter, cursive words are written straight through – and added effort for someone who must balance rather than hold the pencil.
Middleton could see her daughter thinking through the challenge, figuring out how she could do better. She’d get frustrated at times, but she never hesitated to do things as often as it took to get them right.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard Anaya say I can’t do something,” Middleton said.
That attitude carries over to her other interests.
Recently, Anaya and her classmates sat in Cheryl Leader’s art room, working on an exercise. The goal was to get them thinking about different concepts, like color combinations and how an image can be formed by fully coloring inside straight and diagonal lines.
1.How did she make her writing? ________.
A. by hand B. with her arms
C. with her wrists D. with her mouth
2.Why did Anaya’s mother say being a parent can be scary? ________
A. Because she doesn’t want her child to fail.
B. Because she love her child very much.
C. Because raising one who was born with a disability can be a burden.
D. Because she wants to protect her child from failing.
3.According to the passage, what kind of person do you think Anaya is? ________
A. brave, hard-working and proud
B. brave, warm-hearted and kind
C. brace, diligent and modest
D. brave, diligent and shy
4.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Girl without hands inspires everybody.
B. A special artist.
C. Mother and daughter.
D. We can do everything that we want.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
I have been unusually silent these past ten months. I had thought that silence would soon be coming to an end,, but I’m afraid I must tell you now that fate（命运）has decided on a different course for me.
In August of last year, I underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in my abdomen. That operation was thought to have been a success, but it caused a series of secondary complications – which I have been fighting in hospital ever since. It was along and hard fight with many setbacks, but I was steadily, if slowly, overcoming each obstacle along the way and gradually making my way back to health.
However, recent tests have revealed that the cancer has returned. There was no sign or it as recently as a month ago, which means it is aggressive and spreading rapidly. My doctors tell me their best estimate is that I have only a few weeks left to live. This is the final conclusion. My fight is over.
I wish to thank my doctors and caregivers, who efforts have been magnificent. My dear friends, who have given me a lifetime of memories and whose support has sustained me through these difficult months. And all of my partners at The Washington Post, Fox News, and Crown Publishing.
Lastly, I thank my colleagues, my readers, and my viewers, who have made my career possible and given consequence to my life’s work. I believe that the pursuit of truth and right ideas through honest debate and thorough argument is a noble undertaking. I am grateful to have played a small role in the conversations that have helped guide this extraordinary nation’s destiny.
I leave this life with no regret. It was a wonderful life – full and complete with the great loves and great endeavors that make it worth living. I am sad to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived the life that I intended.
1.What is the right order of the events?
a. I have been usually silent these past ten months.
b. The doctors made the final conclusion about my life.
c. I have been fighting in hospital against the secondary complications.
d. In August of last year, I underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor.
e. A month ago, the cancer returned.
A. adeb B. daec
C. dceb D. adcb
2.Which of the following can explain the underlined word “secondary complication” in the second paragraph?
A. a variety of diseases that followed the first operation
B. the second operation following the first surgery
C. some setbacks that followed the first operation
D. some obstacles following the first surgery
3.What is the writer?
A. A doctor B. A writer
C. A professor D. A reporter
4.What is the main purpose of this passage?
A. To explain why the author was silent and his attitude toward death.
B. To explain his attitude toward death and thank those who used to help and support him.
C. To thank those who used to help and support him and express his regret of death.
D. To explain why the author was silent and express his regrets about dying.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
China has recently published its first artificial intelligence (AI) textbook for high school students, following a plan by central government last year to include AI courses in primary and secondary school.
Under the joint efforts by the research center for MOOC at East Normal University and AI startup Sense Time Group, the nine-chapter textbook, named Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence, was written by eminent scholars from well-known schools nationwide, Xinhua reported on Sunday.
It includes the history of AI and how the technology can be applied in areas such as facial recognition, auto driving and public security.
“The textbook focuses not only on basics of AI, also on practical use of AI in daily life,” said Chen Yukun, a professor at East China Normal University, who is also a contributor to the book. At present, about 40 high schools across the country have joined the first batch（批）of AI high education pilot program, by introducing the textbook in curriculum（全部课程）.
“The AI sector is facing a talent shortage globally. The publication of the book is a breakthrough as it takes AI technology out of the ‘ivory tower’ and makes it part of high school learning,” said Lin Dahua, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
As early as 2016, the governments had estimated that demand for AI professionals may suddenly increase to 5 million in the coming years.
“Many industries in the future will benefits from AI technology, so the aim of the related courses should be to let students learn the basic idea and methods of AI,” Lin said.
China has made significant progress in technological research and development in recent years. According to a report released by US-based venture capital（风险资本）database CB Insights in March, China has for the first time surpassed the United States in equity funding（股权融资）to AI startups.
1.The content of the first AI textbook for high school students is about _____________________.
A. the history and the basics of AI
B. how the technology of AI can be applied in facial recognition.
C. practical use of AI in daily life
D. the history of AI and how the technology can be applied in areas.
2.From the passage, we can infer that ______________________.
A. Nowadays, many high schools in China have joined the AI high education pilot program.
B. Now, most high schools all over China have participated in AI high education pilot program.
C. Nowadays, few high schools across China have introduced the textbook in curriculum.
D. Now, 40 percent of the schools in China have introduced the textbook in curriculum.
3.The direct aim of the textbook of AI is to ________________________.
A. take AI technology out of the ‘ivory tower’ and makes it part of high school learning.
B. meet the demand for AI professionals.
C. let students learn the basic idea and methods of AI.
D. spread the knowledge of AI.
4.What is the author’s attitude towards the development of AI in China?
A. optimistic B. pessimistic
C. indifferent D. doubtful
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Have you ever cleaned and organized your increasingly high-tech households, your hard drive, phone or tablet? It’s not just stuff. Your privacy needs a cleanup too. 1.
1. Clean up your browsers（浏览器）
Cookies are blocking everything up and keeping your computer from running fluidly. A free program called CCleaner helps you sort out the cookies and archives（存档）you don’t really need. 2.. CCleaner analyses its backlog of information and lists the data that seems unnecessary.
2. Speed up your smartphone
Most of us already know about e desktops, but what about smartphones? Our phones are essentially handheld computers, and when they overflow with useless information, their operations can also slow down. These aren’t necessarily apps, but overburdened call logs, search history, and saved texts.
For Android users, there’s 1Tap Cleaner, an app that earns its name. 3. Most of us are surprised by how many updated messages and URLs get archived, a data stream that we will probably never refer to again. Then again, you do want to make sure irreplaceable bits (landmark texts, unsaved photos) survive the deep clean.
3. 4.
Digital photos are easy to shoot, upload and copy, which is handy in almost every respect, especially if you grew up lugging rolls of film to the one-hour photo lab. The downside is that you may end up with multiple copies of the same picture. If you’re shooting with a decent camera, each shot could take 10MG or more of space. This volume adds up.
5. This is the premise behind Duplicate Photo Fixer, which is designed to filter through your photo collection in search of double takes.
A. Make your photos shine.
B. The app gathers that data in one place, letting you decide what to keep.
C. This aim of this app is to clean your smartphones.
D. Remove redundant images.
E. When you download the app, you can focus on a specific browsers that you would like to clean up.
F. Here are three tools that can help you organize your virtual (and real) environments.
G. The trick is to safely delete redundant photos without losing the original image.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Living aboard can help you make smarter career decisions
Living in a foreign country doesn’t just give you the opportunity to learn about different cultures, it can also boost your self-awareness and improve your career.
That’s according to a recent study ________ by the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A team of researchers conducted six studies involving 1,874 subjects and found that living abroad increases ________ they call “self-concept clarity.” This is defined as the extent to which a person is able to clearly and confidently define their beliefs. It has been ________ with a slew of benefits, ________ mental well-being, better stress management and enhanced job performance, the ________ write in Harvard Business Review.
In one of the studies, participants were asked to indicate how strongly they ________ statements like, “In general, I have a clear sense of who I am and what I am,” and, “It is often hard for me to make up my mind about things ________ I don’t really know what I want.”
Those who had lived abroad, the research found, reported a ________ sense of self than those who had not.
In another study, participants who had lived abroad were randomly assigned to two groups. Half were asked to reflect on the experience of living abroad while the ________ group was asked to reflect on the ________ of living in their home country. The study found that subjects who reflected on living abroad reported higher self-concept clarity than those who reflected on living ________.
Living abroad also forces people to ________ against different cultural values and norms. Repeatedly having to do this allows people to ________ which values and norms truly define who they are, the researchers explain.
Finally, the study found that the length of time lived abroad had a far greater ________ than the number of foreign countries lived in. The longer people lived abroad, the more likely they were to develop a better ________ of themselves.
As organizations become increasingly global, these findings have ________ implications in the workplace. When it comes to ________ talent, for example, recruiters（征募）highly value job candidates who have international experience because they appear more ________, outgoing and knowledgeable about global affairs, according to the Financial Times.
Further, living abroad better ________ you to make challenging career decisions, according to the researchers.
“It stands to reason,” they write, “that having a clear sense of self explains which types of career options best match one’s ________ and fulfill one’s values, thereby enabling people to be clearer and more confident about their career decisions.”
1.A. released B. removed C. requested D. replaced
2.A. that B. which C. what D. who
3.A. familiar B. associated C. content D. attached
4.A. contained B. included C. including D. holding
5.A. researchers B. professors C. judges D. participants
6.A. turned down B. dealt with C. argued with D. agreed with
7.A. until B. because C. if D. when
8.A. calmer B. falser C. firmer D. clearer
9.A. remaining B. remained C. leaving D. left
10.A. feelings B. belief C. experience D. lessons
11.A. at school B. at home. C. abroad D. outdoors
12.A. protect B. defend C. go D. struggle
13.A. choose B. demand C. determine D. define
14.A. impact B. effort C. value D. experience
15.A. analysis B. understanding C. distinction D. changing
16.A. useless B. free C. practical D. important
17.A. finding B. employ C. contacting D. apply
18.A. modest B. discouraged C. puzzled D. confident
19.A. annoys B. prepares C. signs D. forgives
20.A. faults B. disadvantages C. attractions D. strengths
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Tomb Sweeping Day-the day on 1. people remember their dead 2. (relative) and visit their graves, has just gone. But this year, an interesting story happened on that day. Let me share 3. with you.
At that night, after dinner, a boy was taking a walk in the road. When he walked past a convenience store he thought of going in 4. (buy) something. Then he realized that he didn’t have money with him. So, his mother 5. (phone) to bring some money to him.
While 6. (wait) for his money, the boy saw an old man burning joss paper by the road. “What are you doing here?” the boy 7. (ask) him. “I am sending money to my family.” he said. Then he asked the boy, “What are you doing here?” “I’m waiting for my family to send money to me.”
8. hearing this, the old man’s face turned pale and he ran away 9. (immediate). The boy shouted to him, “Hey, don’t run! I’m just waiting for my family to send money to me!” Suddenly, all the people 10. (burn) joss paper nearby also ran away.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除和修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Recently, our class have a heated discussion about Charles Gray, an ex-millionaire, who has turned his back on his millions and find different ways to be happy in her life.
Some students thought he was wrong to give up his huge house and $2 millions. Without money, his life would be like to be hard. In fact, it is money who has the most important role to play in happy life.
Other didn’t agree with this point of view. They thought Charles was happy live in a small dormitory where there was only a second-hand furniture. It was very great of him to be determined to give all his money out to charities. They believed people which had only a little money were freer and much happier.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
假定你是李华。上周你在China Daily报纸上看到一则关于中国洗洁剂的广告，一名黑人男子被一名中国女子往嘴里放了一些洗洁剂，然后把它塞进洗衣机里。过了一会儿，一名脸色白白的亚洲男子从洗衣机里出现，然后该女子笑了。你对该则广告非常气愤，认为它涉嫌种族歧视，故给报社编辑写了一封信，陈述你的不满，并建议其尽快撤销该则广告。
参考词汇：洗洁剂cleaner 种族歧视race discrimination 撤销remove
注意：可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Editor,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
难度: 中等查看答案及解析