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Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family’s last vacation or example. It was my six-year-old son’s winter break from school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a weeklong trip. The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had meetings in New York, so I had to get back. But that didn’t mean my husband and my son couldn’t stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.
The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged - okay, ordered them to wait it out at the airport, to “earn” more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?
Now some people may think I’m a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up.
I’ve made a living looking for the best deals and exposing the worst tricks. I have been the consumer reporter of NBC’s Today Show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in.
I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money’s worth. I’m also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn’t hesitate to spend on a good haircut. It keeps longer, and it’s the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.
1.Why did Delta give the author’s family credits?
A.They had early bookings. B.They took a later flight.
C.Their flight had been delayed. D.Their flight had been cancelled.
2.What can we learn about the author?
A.She rarely misses a good deal. B.She seldom makes a compromise.
C.She is very strict with her children. D.She is interested in cheap products.
3.What does the author do?
A.She’s a housewife. B.She’s a writer.
C.She’s a media person. D.She’s a business woman.
4.What does the author want to tell us?
A.How to expose bad tricks. B.How to reserve airline seats.
C.How to make a business deal. D.How to spend money wisely.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Low self-esteem makes us feel bad about ourselves. But did you know that over time it also can cause the development of serious mental conditions such as depression?
Self-esteem is, very simply, the set of feelings you have about yourself. It’s developed by your experiences, thoughts, feelings, and relationships.
Unlike self-knowledge, which refers to how much you know about yourself, the core of self-esteem is formed around whether you like yourself or not.
Depression is much more than just feeling sad. It consume your energy, makes everyday activities difficult and interferes with your eating and sleeping patterns. Psychotherapy and/or medication are highly effective in treating depression.
There are several types of depressive disorders, including major depression, persistent depressive disorder, psychotic depression, postpartum depression, and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Clinicians use low self-esteem as one possible symptom when they diagnose the psychiatric condition of major depressive disorder. They don’t necessarily care whether low self-esteem causes the depression or vice versa.
However, personality researchers have long wondered about the chicken-and-egg problem of self-esteem and depression. Certainly, if you dislike yourself, you’ll be more likely to be depressed. Conversely, if you’re depressed, you’ll be more likely to feel bad about who you are as a person.
The only way to disentangle the highly related concepts of self-esteem and depression is through longitudinal research, in which people are followed up over time. A study on depression, conducted by University of Basel researchers Julia Sowislo and Ulrich Orth, contrasted the competing directions of self-esteem to depression vs depression to self-esteem.
The findings almost all overwhelmingly support the vulnerability model of self-esteem and depression. Over time, low self-esteem is a risk factor for depression, regardless of who is tested and how. The study indicated that low self-esteem causes depression but not vice versa.
Therefore, if a person has low self-esteem, there’s an increased risk of developing depression. This is a very important discovery because it shows that improving a person’s self-esteem can make him or her feel better.
1.According to the article, which of the following statements is true?
A.Self-esteem can make us feel bad about ourselves.
B.Low self-esteem is a series of feelings about yourself.
C.The core of self-knowledge is formed around whether you like yourself or not.
D.Depression consumes your energy and interferes with your daily life.
2.Which of the following words is closest to “the chicken and egg problem” mean?
A.Mother child relationship. B.Cooking relationship.
C.Causal relationship. D.Primary and secondary relations.
3.What can we infer from Julia Sowislo and Ulrich Orth’s research?
A.Clinicians don’t necessarily care whether low self-esteem causes the depression.
B.Low self-esteem must lead to depression.
C.Having a strong self-esteem is an important factor in avoiding depression.
D.There are many ways to improve one’s self-esteem.
4.If a person wants to get rid of the low self-esteem control, which of the following methods is wrong?
A.Establish the right mindset and believe that you can do it.
B.Compare yourself with someone who is much better than yourself all the time.
C.Establish the goal, step by step toward the goal.
D.Look at the world in your spare time and feel the beauty around you.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP), also named COVID-19 by WHO, there is a general fear of the unknown virus as its full effects remain to be seen. Fever, coughing, sore throat, difficulty breathing —the NCP’s symptoms are similar to the common cold or the flu, but it’s potentially more dangerous.
Viruses could be deadly, like HIV and Ebola. But what are viruses? How can they cause so much trouble?
Viruses are non-living organisms (有机体) approximately one-millionth of an inch long. Unlike human cells or bacteria, they can’t reproduce on their own. Instead, they invade the cells of living organisms to reproduce, spread and take over.
Viruses can infect every living thing – from plants and animals down to the smallest bacteria. For this reason, they always have the potential to be dangerous to human life. Sometimes a virus can cause a disease so serious that it is fatal. Other viral infections trigger no noticeable reaction.
Viruses lie around our environment all of the time, waiting for a host cell to come along. They can enter our bodies by the nose, mouth, eyes or breaks in the skin. Once inside, they try to find a host cell to infect. For example, HIV, which causes AIDS, attacks the T-cells of the immune system.
But the basic question is, where did viruses first come from? Until now, no clear explanation for their origin exists. “Tracing the origins of viruses is difficult”, Ed Rybicki, a virologist (病毒学家) at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, told Scientific American, “because viruses don’t leave fossils and because of the tricks they use to make copies of themselves within the cells they’ve invaded”.
However, there are three main hypotheses (假说) to explain the origin of viruses. First, viruses started as independent organisms, then became parasites (寄生者). Second, viruses evolved from pieces of DNA or RNA that “escaped” from larger organisms. Third, viruses co-evolved with their host cells, which means they existed alongside these cells.
For the time being, these are only theories. The technology and evidence we have today cannot be used to test these theories and identify the most plausible explanation. Continuing studies may provide us with clearer answers. Or future studies may reveal that the answer is even murkier (含糊不清的) than it now appears.
1.What can we learn about viruses from the text?
A.Viruses have nothing to do with the common cold.
B.Viruses are really small living organisms.
C.Viruses can’t reproduce unless they find a host cell.
D.Viruses enter our bodies mainly through the mouth, nose and hair.
2.Which of the following might explain the origin of viruses?
A.They evolved from the fossils of large organisms.
B.They evolved from parasites into independent organisms.
C.They evolved from the T-cells in animals.
D.They evolved along with their host cells.
3.The underlined word “plausible” in the last paragraph probably means ________.
A.reasonable B.common
C.creative D.unbelievable
4.What can we conclude from the text?
A.Viruses live longer in human host cells than in animals’.
B.Viruses will become more like bacteria as they evolve.
C.It may take a long time to understand the origin of viruses.
D.The author is optimistic about future virus research.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析