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 (引证) older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your friend who is slow to learn 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 against 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 (自尊). 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 (自我肯定). In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren’t urged to think of 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 (静思) techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic viewpoint. Call it the power of negative thinking. The first paragraph is written _________.
| A．to raise an argument about positive thinking |
| B．to introduce the power of positive thinking |
| C．to encourage people to have positive thoughts |
| D．to introduce the $11 billion self-help industry |
According to the study of the Canadian researchers, _________.
| A．positive thinking is not as powerful as negative thinking |
| B．encouraging positive thinking may actually discourage people |
| C．happy people can think positively while unhappy people can’t |
| D．getting people to think positively can strengthen their confidence |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 mean?
| A．You are pointing out the mistakes he has made. |
| B．You are reminding him that he is not intelligent. |
| C．You are not taking his mistakes seriously enough. |
| D．You are showing he has great potential in spite of faults. |
We can learn from the last paragraph that _________.
| A．negative feelings must be got rid of |
| B．there’s no point in thinking positively |
| C．it doesn’t make sense to think negatively |
| D．negative thinking is not always negative |
Have you heard of the story of the four-minute miles? Many years ago, people believed that it was impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than four minutes until Roger Banister proves it wrong in 1954.
What happens if you put an animal in a pond? Any animal, big or small, will swim its way through. What happens when people, who do not know how to swim, fall in deep waters? They drown. If an animal who has not learned swimming could escape by swimming, why not you? Because you believe you will drown while the animal does not.
Have you ever wondered why the letters are organized in a particular order on your keyboard? You might have thought it is to increase the typing speed. But the fact is that this system was developed to reduce the typing speed at a time when typewriter parts would jam (堵塞) if the operator typed too fast.
These three cases show the power of our beliefs. There is no other more powerful directing force in human behavior than belief. Your beliefs have the power to create and to destroy. A belief delivers command to your nervous system.
I used a snake in my workshops of children to learn how unrealistic some of their beliefs are. Students of a school in India, said snakes were slippery, slimy(黏糊糊的) and poisonous. After doing an exercise for changing beliefs, they handled my snake and found it to be dry and clean. They also remembered that only three types of poisonous snakes exist in India.
Did this story end the way you thought? Review your beliefs now and find out which ones you need to change.From the first paragraph, we know that _________.
| A．several people have run a mile in four minutes. |
| B．Roger Banister set a record |
| C．nobody has run a mile in three minutes. |
| D．Roger Banister tied a world record |
By comparing a drowning animal and a person, the writer tried to show _________.
| A．the power of confidence |
| B．the responses of humans and animals to dangers |
| C．the difference between humans and animals |
| D．the power of belief |
Which of the following statements would the writer agree with?
| A．Our beliefs are impossible to change |
| B．How we act mainly depends on our beliefs. |
| C．Our beliefs create or destroy our nervous system |
| D．Our beliefs always go against the truth |
The children visiting the writer’s workshops might_________.
| A．learn how to keep off snakes |
| B．become brave and realistic |
| C．become clever and strong |
| D．learn to review their beliefs |
Norman Cousins was a businessman from the United States who often traveled around the world on business. He enjoyed his work and traveling.
Then, after returning to the United States from a busy and tiring trip to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics( USSR)，Mr. Cousins got sick. Because he had pushed his body to the limit of its strength on the trip, a chemical change began to take place inside him. The material between his bones became weak.
In less than one week after his return, he could not stand. Every move that he made was painful. He was not able to sleep at night.
The doctore told him that they did not know how to cure Mr. Cousins ’ problem and he might never get over the illness. Mr. Cousins, however, refused to give up hope.
Mr. Cousins thought that unhappy thoughts were causing bad chemical changes in his body. He did not want to take medicine to cure himself. Instead，he felt that happy thoughts or laughter might cure his illness. .'
He began to experiment on himself while still in hospital by watching funny shows on television. Mr. Cousins quickly found that 10 minutes of real laughter during the day gave him two hours of pain -free sleep at night.
Deciding that the doctors could not help him, Mr. Cousins left the hospital and checked into a hotel room where he could continue his experiments with laughter. For eight days，Mr. Cousins rested in the hotel room watching funny shows on television，reading funny books，and sleeping whenever he felt tired. Within three weeks，he felt well enough to take a vacation to Puerto . Rico where he began running on the beach for exercise.
After a few months，Mr. Cousins returned to work. He has laughed himself back to health.Why did Norman Cousins get sick?
| A．He did not rest enough. | B．He traveled too much. |
| C．His body chemistry changed. | D．All of the above. |
What part of his body was affected by the illness?
| A．The bones in his feet. |
| B．His mind when he slept. |
| C．The material between his bones. |
| D．His stomach. |
What did Mr. Cousins think caused his illness?
| A．Bad food. | B．Too much laughter. |
| C．Unhappy thoughts. | D．The doctors. |
Where did Mr. Cousins go in order to cure himself?
| A．To a hotel room. | B．To the beach. | C．To the hospital. | D．To the USSR. |
How long did it take before Mr. Cousins went back, to work?
| A．A few weeks. | B．A few months. | C．A few hours. | D．A few years. |
Americans think that travel is good for you. Some even think it can help to solve one of the country ’ s worst problems ~: crime (犯罪）.
Crime worries a lot of people. Every year, the number of crimes is up and up. And many criminals (罪犯）are young. They often come from sad homes, with only one parent or no parents at all.
There are many young criminals in prison，but prison doesn ’ t change them. Six or seven in ten will go back to crime when they come out of prison.
One man ,Bob Burton, thought of a new idea. In the old days, young men had to live a difficult life on the road. They learned to be strong and brave, and to help their friends to be strong and brave, and to help their friends in time of danger. This helped them grow into men. So Bob Burton started “Vision Quest. “ He takes young criminals on a long ,long journey with horses and wagons (马车）， 3,000 miles through seven states. They are on the road for more than a year.
The young people in Vision Quest all have bad problems. Most of them have already spent time in prison. This is their last chance.
It’s hard work on the road. The day starts before the sun comes up. The boys and girls have to feed the horses. Some of them have never loved anyone before but they love their horses. That love can help them to live a new life.
Not all the young people on Vision Quest will leave crime behind them. Three or four in ten will one day be in prison again. Bob Burton is right. Travel can be good for you. Even today, Americans still say, “ Go west, young men. ”In the last paragraph “leave crime behind them" means .
| A．no longer do a crime | B．leave people who do a crime |
| C．don’t do all the crimes | D．leave criminals behind |
Why is Bob Burton right?
| A．Because he can help to solve crime. |
| B．Because three or four is better than six or seven. |
| C．Because the young criminals have a hard life on the road. |
| D．Because he can stop crime in the country. |
Form the passage we may infer that .
| A．getting up before the sun rises can help out of crime |
| B．we can hardly find a person who has no love for anybody or anything |
| C．travelling can help all criminals out of prison |
| D．young people can do anything freely |
On “ Vision Quest" .
| A．young people have bad problems |
| B．young people grow tall very fast |
| C．young people often help their friends in time of danger |
| D．all of the above |
Americans still say, "Go west, young men. ”because .
| A．if they go west they can have a travel |
| B．in the west there is a prison |
| C．there they have to live a hard life to grow into men |
| D．prison doesn’t change them |
There are new and exciting ways to use the Internet to learn English while you are on - line. The Internet uses a lot of multimedia elements (多媒体原理），like words, sounds, pictures, animations and video. This is perfect for studying a language because you've got to see, hear, and repeat things as much as you like. Learning over the Internet is also funny because you can be a part of conversations happening all around the globe ！ Special Internet sites are designed for people learning English， just like yourself. These sites use multimedia to help you learn and are a great way to meet other people around the world. This is Cyber English.
On the Internet, English is the major language. As a result, it is now more important than ever to be able to understand English when you serve the web. It is not always easy，though. The English can be difficult or have a lot of cultural information that you have never seen ！
One site for students studying English and their teachers is Englishtown. At http://www. english- town. com, you will find a community ( group) of people interested in learning English. There are several buildings in the virtual (虚拟的）town where you can play games, chat with friends, ask and get answers about cultural questions, and find an international penfriend who shares your interests. There are extra resources to help you learn，such as multimedia CD - ROM and books for language learning and translation. You can also have daily and monthly English lessons delivered to your own e - mail address. There is even an on - line school where you can take English classes over Lhe Internet. Englishtown is the perfect place to prefect for a trip to England or the United States ！ Would you like to become part of a virtual community(虚拟社区）of English sfH-aktrs ： Surfing the web is not only funny but can also help improve your English ！ Try out >ome of tlv, web sites listed below and see how students all over the world are learning English on line.Cyber English probably means" ".
| A．learning English on Internet |
| B．teaching yourself English |
| C．the history of English |
| D．English broadcast on TV or over the radio |
English on - line interests a lot of people because .
| A．only in this way one can learn the language well |
| B．people don’ t have to pay |
| C．the learners can have a face to face study of courses with the teachers |
| D．it makes learning easier and more interesting |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．English is the only useful language on the Internet. |
| B．The Internet can provide people with the cultural information they need. |
| C．At http://www. Englishtown. com, people can study and play. |
| D．One can find a pen-friend on http://www.Englishtown. com. |
The underlined word “ surfing" probably means .
| A．setting up | B．going over | C．researching | D．inventing |
The omitted (省略）part of the passage might .
| A．show us some of the web sites on which sell books |
| B．tell us how to use the Internet |
| C．tell us where to get the CD - ROMS we need |
| D．show us some of the web sites on which English is taught |
Who are these people rushing by you on the street? More than 250 million people now call America" home" , but most of them can trace their families back to other parts of the world. If you, look at the names on shop windows, you will see that Americans come from many different lands. The idea that these people, who once were strangers to the United States，have lost the customs and cultures of their original countries and have become "Americans"is really not true. In fact, what exists in America is - more often a kind of “ side - by - side" living in which groups of people from other countries often have kept many of their own customs and habits. They join the general American society only in certain areas of their lives such as in schools，business，and sports一but they keep many of their own native customs and manners socially and at home. This “ side - by - side" living has both advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes it may cause disagreements to develop between groups whose ways of life are very different from one another. However, there are also great advantages that come from the variety of cultures brought by settlers from other lands. There is great freedom of choice among ideas ’ dress, food, and social customs in America. Everyone can find some part of his or her own familiar world in the United States, in churches, music, food, national groups, or newspaper.More than 250 million people call America ”home" because .
| A．they have their houses there |
| B．they settle there now |
| C．they want to make their home there |
| D．they like that land very much |
Side - by - side living style means
| A．to make friends with native people |
| B．to keep their own customs while sharing American ones in certain areas |
| C．that the groups of people live nearby |
| D．that they get closer to American society |
According to the passage, people in the USA
| A．share American customs and cultures |
| B．live in a kind of side - by - side society |
| C．keep their own customs and habits firmly |
| D．make no choice to accept American customs |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．They always stick to their own customs and habits. |
| B．Side - by - side living style is not suitable. |
| C．They face the society they are not familiar with. |
| D．The advantages coming from the variety of cultures make life in America colorful. |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Advantages and Disadvantages |
| B．Different Customs and Habits |
| C．Home for the People |
| D．Side - by - Side Living Style in America |
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