Use of English (2024)

Your social life is defined as “the activities you do with other people, for pleasure, when you are not working”. It’s important to have a social life, but what’s right for one person won’t be right for another. Some of us feel energised by spending lots of time with others, [1] some of us may feel drained, even if it’s doing something we enjoy.

This is why finding a [2] in your social life is key. Spending too much time on your own, not [3] others, can make you feel lonely and [4]. Loneliness is known to impact on your mental health and [5] a low mood. Anyone can feel lonely at any time. This might be especially true if, [6], you are working from home and you are [7] on the usual social conversations that happen in an office. Other life changes can [8] periods of loneliness too, such as retirement, changing jobs or becoming a parent.

It’s important to recognise these feelings of loneliness. There are ways to [9] a social life, but it can feel overwhelming [10]. It’s a great idea to start by thinking about hobbies you enjoy. You can then find groups and activities related to those where you will be able to meet [11] people. There are groups aimed at new parents, at those who want to [12] a new sport for the first time, or networking events for those in the same profession to meet up and [13] ideas.

On the other hand, it’s [14] possible to have too much of a social life. If you feel like you’re always doing something and there is never any [15] in your calendar for downtime, you could suffer social burnout or social [16]. We all have our own social limit and it’s important to recognise when you’re feeling like it’s all too much. Low mood, low energy, irritability and trouble sleeping could all be [17] of poor social health. Make sure you [18] some time in your diary when you’re [19] for socialising and use this time to relax, [20] and recover.

[A]because

[B]unless

[C]whereas

[D]until

[A]contrast

[B]balance

[C]link

[D]gap

[A]seeing

[B]pleasing

[C]judging

[D]teaching

[A]misguided

[B]surprised

[C]spoiled

[D]disconnected

[A]contribute to

[B]rely on

[C]interfere with

[D]go against

[A]in fact

[B]of course

[C]for example

[D]on average

[A]cutting back

[B]missing out

[C]breaking in

[D]looking down

[A]shorten

[B]trigger

[C]follow

[D]interrupt

[A]assess

[B]interpret

[C]provide

[D]regain

10.

[A]at first

[B]in turn

[C]on time

[D]by chance

11.

[A]far-sighted

[B]strong-willed

[C]kind-hearted

[D]like-minded

12.

[A]try

[B]promote

[C]watch

[D]describe

13.

[A]test

[B]share

[C]accept

[D]revise

14.

[A]already

[B]thus

[C]also

[D]only

15.

[A]list

[B]order

[C]space

[D]boundary

16.

[A]fatigue

[B]criticism

[C]injustice

[D]dilemma

17.

[A]sources

[B]standards

[C]signs

[D]scores

18.

[A]take over

[B]wipe off

[C]add up

[D]mark out

19.

[A]ungrateful

[B]unavailable

[C]responsible

[D]regretful

20.

[A]react

[B]repeat

[C]return

[D]rest

深度解析 (Answers & Logic)

1. [C] whereas. 逻辑关系题。前半句说有些人觉得和别人共度时光能“充满活力（energised）”，后半句说另一些人觉得“精疲力竭（drained）”。前后形成强烈的对比，故填“然而/反之（whereas）”。
2. [B] balance. 语义衔接题。既然社交多会累、少会孤独，因此在社交生活中找到一种“平衡（balance）”才是关键。
3. [A] seeing. 词义辨析题。花太多时间独处，不“去见（seeing）”其他人，会让你感到孤独。
4. [D] disconnected. 语义并列题。与 lonely 构成并列的负面情感，不社交会让人感到孤独和与外界“脱节的/失去联系的（disconnected）”。
5. [A] contribute to. 动宾搭配题。众所周知，孤独会影响心理健康并“导致/促成（contribute to）”情绪低落。
6. [C] for example. 逻辑关系题。后面举了居家办公的例子来说明上文的“任何人都可能随时感到孤独”。填“例如（for example）”。
7. [B] missing out. 固定搭配题。居家办公让你“错失/漏掉（missing out on）”了办公室里平常的社交对话。
8. [B] trigger. 动宾搭配题。其他的如退休、换工作等生活变化也会“引发/触发（trigger）”孤独的时期。
9. [D] regain. 动宾搭配题。既然前面谈到了失去社交联系（孤独），那么这句的意思是：有很多方法可以“重新获得/恢复（regain）”社交生活。
10. [A] at first. 逻辑副词题。有很多方法恢复社交，但这在“一开始（at first）”可能会让人觉得难以应付/压力很大。
11. [D] like-minded. 语义辨析题。通过你喜欢的爱好，你能够遇到“志同道合的（like-minded）”人。
12. [A] try. 动宾搭配题。针对那些想要第一次“尝试（try）”一项新运动的人。
13. [B] share. 动宾搭配题。同行业的人聚在一起“分享/交流（share）”想法。
14. [C] also. 逻辑关系题。上文讲社交太少会孤独，这里转向另一个极端，说“另一方面，社交生活太多也是（also）可能的”。
15. [C] space. 词义搭配题。如果你的日历上从来没有任何用于休息的“空间/空隙（space）”。
16. [A] fatigue. 语义并列题。与 social burnout（社交倦怠）并列，你可能会遭受社交倦怠或社交“疲劳（fatigue）”。
17. [C] signs. 词义辨析题。情绪低落、缺乏活力、烦躁和睡眠困难，这些都是社交健康状况不佳的“迹象/标志（signs）”。
18. [D] mark out. 动词短语题。确保你在日记中“划出/留出（mark out）”一些时间。
19. [B] unavailable. 语义衔接题。这段时间里，你对于社交是“没空的/不可用的（unavailable）”，即这段时间谢绝社交。
20. [D] rest. 语义并列题。利用这段时间去放松、“休息（rest）”和恢复。

核心长难句精解 (High-Light)

1. what 引导的主语从句与对比结构：
"It’s important to have a social life, but what’s right for one person won’t be right for another."
 【解析】`what` 引导的主语从句充当 `won't be` 的主语，意思是“对一个人合适的东西”。这句话高度概括了文章的主旨：社交生活没有放之四海而皆准的标准。 
2. 条件状语从句与嵌套的定语从句：
"If you feel like you’re always doing something and there is never any space in your calendar for downtime, you could suffer social burnout or social fatigue."
 【解析】`If` 引导条件状语从句。在从句中使用了 `feel like` 后面跟两个并列的宾语从句。这句话形象地描绘了现代人因社交过度而导致日程表满负荷、没有“停工期（downtime）”的焦虑状态。 