Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay on the following question. You should write at least 120 words but no more than 180 words.
Suppose a foreign friend of yours is coming to visit your campus, what is the most interesting place you would like to take him/her to see and why?

    Among the kinds of social gestures most significant for second-language teachers are those which are (1) ______ in form but different in meaning in the two cultures. For example, a Colombian who wants someone to (2) ______ him often signals with a hand movement in which all the fingers of one hand, cupped, point downward as they move rapidly (3) ______. Speakers or English have a similar gesture through the hand may not be cupped and the fingers may be held more loosely, but for them the gesture means goodbye or go away, quite the (4) ______ of the Colombian gesture. Again, in Colombian, a speaker of English would have to know that when he (5) ______ height he most choose between different gestures depending on whether he is (6) ______ a human being or an animal. If he keeps the palm of the hand (7) ______ the floor, as he would in his own culture when making known the height of a child, for example, he will very likely be greeted by laughter, in Colombia this gesture is (8) ______ for the description of animals. In order to describe human beings he should keep the palm of his hand (9) ______ to the floor. Substitutions of one gesture for the other often create not only humorous but also (10) ______ moment. In both of the examples above, speakers from two different cultures have the same gesture, physically, but its meaning differs sharply.

    The fact is，the world has been finding less oil than it has been using for more than twenty years now. Not only has demand been (1) _______, but the oil we have been finding is coming from places that are (2) ________ to reach. At the same time, more of this newly (3) ________ oil is of the type that requires a greater investment to (4) ________. And because demand for this precious resource will grow, according to some, by over 40 percent by 2025, fueling the world’s economic (5) ________ will take a lot more energy from every possible source.
     The energy industry needs to get more from existing fields while continuing to search for new (6) ________.  Automakers must continue to improve fuel efficiency and perfect hybrid  (混合动力的) vehicles. Technological irnprovernents are needed so that wind, solar and hydrogen can be more (7) ________ parts of the energy equation. Governrnents ned to formulate energy policies that promote (8) ________ and environmentally sound development. Consumers must be willing to pay for some of these solutions, while practicing conservation efforts of their own.
    Inaction is not an (9) ________. So let’s work together to balance this equation. We are taking some of the (10) ________ needed to get started, but we need your help to go the rest of the way.

I Cry, Therefore I Am

    A) In 2008, at a German zoo, a gorilla (大猩猩) named Gana gave birth to a male infant, who died after three months. Photographs of Gana, looking stricken and inconsolable (伤心欲绝的)，attracted crowds to the zoo. Sad as the scene was, the humans, not Gana, were the only ones crying. The notion that animals can weep has no scientific basis. Years of observations by biologists Dian Fossey, who observed gorillas, and Jane Goodall, who worked with chimpanzees (黑猩猩)，could not prove that animals cry tears from emotion.
    B) It’s true that many animals shed tears, especially in response to pain. Tears protect the eye by keeping it moist. But crying as an expression of feeling is unique to humans and has played an essential role in human evolution and the development of human cultures.
    C) Within two days an infant can imitate sad and happy faces. If an infant does not cry out, it is urlikely to get the attention it needs to survive.Around 3-4 months, the relationship between the human infant and its environment takes on a more organized communicative role, and tearful crying begins to serve interpersonal purposes: the search for comfort and pacification (抚慰)．As we get older, crying becomes a tool of social interaction: grief and joy, shame and pride, fear and manipulation.
    D) Tears are as universal as laughter, and grief is more complex than joy. But although we all cry, we do so in different ways. Women cry rnore frequently and intensely than rnen, especially when exposed to emotional events. Like crying, depression is, around the world, more commonly seen in women than in men. One explanation might be that women, who despite decades of social advances still suffer from economic inequality, discrimination (歧视) and even violence, might have more to cry about. Men not only cry for shorter periods than women, but they also are less inclined to explain their tears, usually shed them more quietly, and tend more frequently to apologize when they cry openly. Men, like women, report crying at the death of a loved one and in response to a moving religious experience. They are more likely than women to cry when their core identities-as providers and protectors, as fathers and fighters are questioned.
    E) People who score on personality tests as more sympathetic cry more than those who are more rigid or have more self-control. Frequency of crying varies widely: some shed tears at any novel or movie, others only a handful of times in their lives. Crying in response to stress and conflict in the home, or after emotional trauma (创伤), lasts much longer than tears induced by everyday sadness-which in turn last longer than tears of delight and joy.
    F) Sadness is our primary association with crying, but the fact is that people report feeling happier after crying. Surveys estimate that 85% of women and 73% of men report feeling better after shedding tears. Surprisingly, crying is more cornnonly associated with minor forms of depression than with major depression involving suicidal thoughts.
    G) People widely report that crying relieves tension, restores emotional balance and provides “catharsis,” washing out of bad feelings. The term “catharsis” has religious implications of removing evil and sin; it’s no surprise that religious ceremonies are, around the world, one of the main settings for the release of tears.
    H) Crying is a nearly universal sign of grief, though some mourners report that, despite genuine sorrow, they cannot shed tears-sometimes even for years after their loved one has gone. Unlike today, when the privacy of grief is more respected, the public or ceremonial shedding of tears, at the graveside of a spouse or the funeral of a king or queen, was once considered socially or even politically essential.
    I) Crying has also served other social purposes. Rousseau wrote in his Confessions that while he considered tears the most powerful expression of love, he also just liked to cry over nothing.
    J) The association of tears with art has ancient roots. The classic Greek tragedies of the fifth century B.C. were primarily celebrations of gods. Tragedies, like poetry and music, were staged religious events. Even then it was recognized that crying in response to drama brought pleasure.
    K) I have argued that there are neurobiological (神经生物方面的) associations linking the arts and mood disorders. When I lecture on crying, I ask my audience to let me know, by a show of hands, which art forms most move them to tears. About 80% saynusic, followed closely by novels (74%), but then the figures fall sharply, t0 43%, for poetry, and 10-22% for paintings, sculpture and architecture.
    L) The physical act, of crying is mainly one of breathing in air, which is why we choke up when we weep. This suggests to language scientists that emotional crying evolved before language, perhaps explaining why tears communicate states of mind and feelings that are often so difficult to express in words. Of course, from an evolutionary perspective, recognition of emotion (usually through facial gesture) was essential for survival.
    M) The earliest humans arrived several million years ago, but only 150,000 t0 200,000 years ago, did cultures, language, religion and the arts arise. Along the way, tears became more than a biological necessity to. lubricate (润滑) the eye and developed into a sign of intense emotion and a signal of social bonding. The development of self-consciousness and the notion of individual identity, or ego; storytelling about the origins of the world, the creation of humanity and life after death; and the ability to feel others’ sadness-all were critical parts of the neurobiological changes that made us human.
    N) More recently, we’ve learned from neuroscience that certain brain circuits (回路) are activated (激活)， rapidly and unconsciously, when we see another in emotional distress. In short, our brain evolved circuits to allow us to experience sympathy, which in turn made civilization, and an ethics based on sympathy, possible. So the next time you reach a tissue box, or sob on a friend’s shoulder, or shed tears at the movies, stop and reflect on why we cry and what it means to cry. Because ultimately, while we love to cry, we also cry to love.

　　Hospitals, hoping to curb medical error, have invested heavily to put computers, smart phones and other devices into the hands of medical staff for instant access to patient data, drug information and case studies.
　　But like many cures, this solution has come with an unintended side effect: doctors and nurses can be focused on the screen and not the patient, even during moments of critical care. A poll showed that half of medical technicians had admitted texting during a procedure.
　　This phenomenon has set off an intensifying discussion at hospitals and medical schools about a problem perhaps best described as "distracted doctoring." In response, some hospitals have begun limiting the use of electronic devices in critical settings, while schools have started reminding medical students to focus on patients instead of devices.
　　"You justify carrying devices around the hospital to do medical records, but you can surf the Internet or do Facebook, and sometimes Facebook is more tempting," said Dr. Peter Papadakos at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
　　"My gut feeling (本能的感觉) is lives are in danger," said Dr. Papadakos. "We're not educating people about the problem, and it's getting worse."
　　A survey of 439 medical technicians found that 55 percent of technicians who monitor bypass machines acknowledged that they had talked on cellphones during heart surgery. Half said they had texted while in surgery. The study concluded, "Such distractions have the potential to be disastrous.”
　　Medical professionals have always faced interruptions from cellphones, and multitasking is simply a fact of life for many medical jobs. What has changed, say doctors, especially younger ones, is that they face increasing pressure to interact with their devices.
　　The pressure stems from a mantra (信条) of modem medicine that patient care must be "data driven," and informed by the latest, instantly accessible information. By many accounts, the technology has helped reduce medical error by providing instant access to patient data or prescription details.
　　Dr. Peter Carmel, president of the American Medical Association, said technology "offers great potential in health care," but he added that doctors' first priority should be with the patient.

　　I have closely watched my generation, known as The Millennials, for 29 years now. Joel Stein wrote an extensive piece on Millennials and he remains rather optimistic about our potential.
　　I hesitate to share his optimism because of a paradox (矛盾的现象) we seem to exhibit,  namely, that there are more avenues for us to entertain ourselves than ever before, yet we are more bored than ever before.
　　Entertainment has never been more varied. We have more cable channels, television shows, and movies than ever before. Internet providers allow instant viewing of almost any movie or television program ever created. Social drinking and partying are also widely available for Millennials. Every generation develops these habits at a certain age, but Millennials seem to be extending this phase of life as they postpone marriage.
　　Some of this is undoubtedly due to The Great Recession. Millennials are having a difficult time finding jobs; only 47 percent of 16-to-24-year-olds are employed, the smallest share since government started recording data in 1948.
　　But do Milleruuals respond to these economic troubles by doing whatever it takes to make ends meet? Hardly. In fact, of the four generations Pew Research has data for, the Millennial generation does not cite work ethic (勤奋工作) as distinctive of itself. Millennials want to save the world, but they sit and wait for that world-changing opportunity to be handed to them. Instead of working 2-3 jobs, launching a business, or doing what it takes to succeed, they retreat. Millennials may be the first generation to have a lower standard of living than their parents, but with this response to adversity (逆境), perhaps deservingly so.
　　Much ink has been spilled in management books discussing how to get the most out of these youths in the workplace. Largely, they come to the same conclusion: Millennials are entitled, over-confident, and expect too much too quickly. We should not be surprised. Today's young adults were raised by parents who made sure to boost their self-esteem at every turn, telling them they could achieve whatever they set their minds to, and handing out prizes for the sixth place.