The $11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like “I never do anything right” into positive ones 
like “I can succeed.” But was positive thinking advocate Norman Vincent Peale right? Is there power in positive thinking?
Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.
The study’s authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by citing older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is very positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your stupid friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, you’re just underlining his faults. In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write essays opposing funding for the disabled. When the essayists were later praised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written.
In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students’ self-esteem. The participants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes. Every 15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell. When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, “I am lovable.”
Those with low self-esteem didn’t feel better after the forced self-affirmation. In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren’t urged to think positive thoughts.
The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy (心理治疗) that urge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them. In the fighting, we not only often fail but can make things worse. Meditation techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic perspective. Call it the power of negative thinking.What do we learn from the first paragraph about the self-help industry?
| A．It has produced positive results. |
| B．It is a highly profitable industry. |
| C．It is based on the concept of positive thinking. |
| D．It was established by Norman Vincent Peale. |
What does the word “underline” mean (Line 4, Para. 3)?
| A．point out | B．lay emphasis on | C．pay no attention to | D．take for granted |
Which of the following is TRUE about the Canadian researchers’ study?
| A．Encouraging positive thinking many do more good than harm. |
| B．Self-affirmation can bring a positive change to one’s mood. |
| C．There can be no simple therapy for psychological problems. |
| D．Forcing a person to think positive thoughts may lower their self-esteem. |
What do we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Meditation may prove to be a good form of psychotherapy. |
| B．People can avoid making mistakes through meditation. |
| C．Different people tend to have different ways of thinking. |
| D．The effects of positive thinking vary from person to person. |
Many animals recognize their food because they see it. So do humans. When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat. You can also use other senses when you choose your food. You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good. You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice. Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food. A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense.
Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type. The giant panda（大熊猫）eats only one particular type of bamboo（竹子）. Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice. A kind of white butterfly（蝴蝶）will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden. However, most animals have a more varied diet（多样化饮食）. The bear eats fruits and fish. The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits. The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season.
Humans have a very varied diet. We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us. In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar. This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health. Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health. Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modern life.We can infer from the text that humans and animals _________.
| A．depend on one sense in choosing food |
| B．are not satisfied with their food |
| C．choose food in similar ways |
| D．eat entirely different food |
Which of the following eats only one type of food?
| A．The white butterfly. | B．The small bird. |
| C．The bear. | D．The fox. |
Certain animals change their choice of food when ___________.
| A．the season changes |
| B．the food color changes |
| C．they move to different places |
| D．they are attracted by different smells |
We can learn from the last paragraph that __________.
| A．food is chosen for a good reason |
| B．French and British food is good |
| C．some people have few choices of food |
| D．some people care little about healthy diet |
One of the latest trend（趋势） in American Childcare is Chinese au pairs. Au Pair in Stamford, for example, has got increasing numbers of request for Chinese au pairs from aero to around 4,000 since 2004. And that’s true all across the country.
“I thought it would be useful for him to learn Chinese at an early age” Joseph Stocke, the managing director of s company, says of his 2-year old son. “I would at least like to give him the chance to use the language in the future,” After only six months of being cared by 25-year-old woman from China, the boy can already understand basic Chinese daily expressions, his dad says.
Li Drake, a Chinese native raising two children in Minnesota with an American husband, had another reason for looking for an au pair from China. She didn’t want her children to miss out on their roots.” Because I am Chinese, my husband and I wanted the children to keep exposed to(接触) the language and culture.” she says.
“Staying with a native speaker is better for children than simply sitting in a classroom,” says Suzanne Flynn, a professor in language education of Children.” But parents must understand that just one year with au pair is unlikely to produce wonders. Complete mastery demands continued learning until the age of 10 or 12.”
The popularity if au pairs from China has been strengthened by the increasing numbers of American parents who want their children who want their children to learn Chinese. It is expected that American demand for au pairs will continue to rise in the next few years.What does that term” au pair” in the text mean?
| A．A mother raising her children on her own |
| B．A child learning a foreign language at home |
| C．A professor in language education of children |
| D．A young foreign woman taking care of children. |
Li Drake has her children study Chinese because she wants them ______.
| A．to live in China some day |
| B．to speak the language at home |
| C．to catch up wit other children |
| D．to learn about the Chinese culture |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Learning Chinese is becoming popular In America, |
| B．Educated woman do better in looking after children |
| C．Chinese au pairs need to improve their English Skills. |
| D．Children can learn a foreign language well in six months. |
We are all interested in equality, but while some people try to protect the school and examination system in the name of equality, others, still in the name of equality, want only to destroy it.
Any society which is interested in equality of opportunity and standards of achievement must regularly test its pupils. The standards may be changed — no examination is perfect — but to have no tests or examination would mean the end of equality and of standards. There are groups of people who oppose this view and who do not believe either in examinations or in any controls in schools or on teachers. This would mean that everything would depend on luck since every pupil would depend on the efficiency， the values and the purpose of each teacher.
Without examinations, employers will look for employees from the highly respected schools and from families known to them — a form of favoritism will replace equality at the moment. The bright child from an ill-respected school can show certificates to prove he or she is suitable for a job, while the lack of certificate indicates the unsuitability of a dull child attending a well-respected school. This defense of excellence and opportunity would disappear if examinations were taken away, and the bright child from a poor family would be a prisoner of his or her school’s reputation, unable to compete for employment with the child from the favored school.
The opponents（反对者） of the examination system suggest that examinations are an evil force because they show differences between pupils. According to these people, there must be no special, different, academic class. They have even suggested that there should be no form of difference in sport or any other area: all jobs or posts should be filled by unsystematic selection. The selection would be made by people who themselves are probably selected by some computer.The word “favoritism” in paragraph 3 is used to describe the phenomenon that .
| A．bright children also need certificates to get satisfying jobs. |
| B．poor children with certificates are favoured in job markets. |
| C．children from well-respected schools tend to have good jobs. |
| D．children attending ordinary schools achieve great success. |
What would happen if examinations were taken away according to the author?
| A．Schools for bright children would lose their reputation. |
| B．There would be more opportunities and excellence. |
| C．Children from poor families would be able to change their schools. |
| D．Children’s job opportunity would be affected by their school reputation. |
The opponents of the examination system will agree that .
| A．jobs should not be assigned by systematic se lection |
| B．computers should be selected to take over many jobs. |
| C．special classes are necessary to keep the school standards |
| D．schools with academic subjects should be done aw ay with |
The passage mainly focuses on .
| A．schools and certificates |
| B．examination and equality |
| C．opportunity and employment |
| D．standards and reputation |
Sydney—A shark savaged a schoolboy's leg while he was surfing with his father at a beach in Sydney on February 23．It was the third shark attack along the coast of Australia's largest city in a month．
The 15-year-old boy and his father were in the water off Avalon, on Sydney's northern beaches, around dawn when he was attacked．The city's beaches are packed with locals and tourists during the summer months．
"The father heard a scream and turned to see his son trashing （扭动） about in the water," police said．"Fortunately, the shark swam away and the boy was helped to shore by his father．
Lifesaving Club spokesman Nick Miller: "It got him around the top of his left leg and the father came and dragged him out of water．" He said the boy was bleeding heavily when he was brought to shore．"There was a lot of pain, as you can imagine"．The teenager was airlifted to hospital for treatment for leg injuries．
Police said the bites" cut through to the bone" , but the boy did not appear to have sustained any fractures （骨折）．He was in a stable condition now．
Several beaches were closed after the attack．Water police and lifeguards were searching for the shark, while police hoped to identify its species by the shape of the bite marks．But they said it was too early to say what type of shark attacked the boy．"I don't even know if he saw it," Miller said．
Many shark species live in the waters off Sydney's beaches, but attacks on humans are still relatively rare．However, there were two attacks on successive days earlier this month, one on a navy diver in Sydney harbor, not far from the famous Opera House, and the other on a surfer at the city's world-famous Bondi beach．
Fishermen say shark numbers are on the rise．There is a ban on commercial fishing in the harbor, which has increased fish stocks．Marine experts also claim environmental protection has created a cleaner environment, attracting sharks closer to shore as they chase fish．Many shark species, including the Great White—the man-eater made famous in Steven Spielberg's Jaws—are protected in Australian waters．The report mainly tells us _______．
| A．shark attacks on humans are on the rise |
| B．sharks attacked humans three times in one month |
| C．a boy was attacked by a shark at a Sydney beach |
| D．shark numbers are increasing in the waters off Sydney's beaches |
The underlined word" savaged "in the first paragraph probably means _______．
| A．attracted | B．dragged |
| C．bit | D．packed |
What do we know about the city of Sydney from the passage?
| A．It is one of the largest cities in Australia． |
| B．Sydney harbor is not far from the famous Opera House． |
| C．There are many locals and tourists on its coast all year round． |
| D．There are few shark species in the waters off Sydney's beaches． |
All the followings are the causes of Australia's sharks increasing EXCEPT that_______．
| A．environmental protection has created a cleaner environment |
| B．a ban on commercial fishing has increased fish numbers |
| C．many shark species are protected in Australia waters |
| D．the film Jaws made the Great White famous |
People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behavior are formed. It is not easy to explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive.
Social scientists are of course extremely interested in these types of questions. They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behavior. There are no clear answers yet, but two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed. As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from each other, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents of each theory. The controversy is often conveniently referred to as “nature and nurture”．
Those who support the “nature” side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological factors. That our environment has little, if anything, to do with our abilities, characteristics and behavior is central to this theory. Taken to an extreme，this theory states that our behavior is predetermined to such a great degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts(本能)．
Proponents of the “nurture” theory, or, as they are often called, behaviorists, claim that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act. A behaviorist, B. F. Skinner, sees humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings. The behaviorists' view of the human being is quite mechanistic. They state that, like machines, humans respond to environmental stimuli (刺激) as the basis of their behavior.
Socially and politically, the consequences of these two theories are far-reaching. In the US，for example, blacks often score below whites on standardized intelligence tests. This leads some “nature” proponents to conclude that blacks are genetically lower in status than whites. Behaviorists, on the contrary, say that the differences in scores are due to the fact that blacks are often robbed of many of the educational and other environmental advantages that whites enjoy, and that, as a result, they do not develop the same responses that whites do.
Neither of these theories can yet fully explain human behavior. In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes and that the controversy will continue for a long time is certain. This passage is mainly concerned with ________.
| A．relation between personality and behavior |
| B．relation between behavior and environment |
| C．different accounts of patterns of human behavior |
| D．different theories of the formation of human behavior |
The underlined word “proponents” in Paragraph 2 means ________.
| A．creators | B．advisors |
| C．advocates | D．judges |
In Paragraph 5, the author mainly writes about ________.
| A．the considerable influence of the two theories |
| B．differences between the blacks and whites |
| C．racial discrimination in the United States |
| D．different responds to intelligence tests |
What's the author's purpose in writing the passage?
| A．To call our attention to the changes of human behavior. |
| B．To urge scientists to do more research in social science. |
| C．To give us a detailed explanation of human behavior. |
| D．To present an argument in the field of social science. |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号