Bad moods can actually be good for you, with an Australian study finding that being sad makes people less gullible（轻信的）, improves their ability to judge others and also boosts memory.
The study, authored by psychology professor Joseph Forgas at the University of New South Wales, showed that people in a negative mood were more critical of, and paid more attention to, their surroundings than happier people, who were more likely to believe anything they were told.
"Although positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, cooperation, and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger（引发）more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world," Forgas wrote.
"Our research suggests that sadness … promotes information processing strategies best suited to dealing with more demanding situations."
For the study, Forgas and his team conducted several experiments that started with inducing happy or sad moods in their subjects through watching films and recalling positive or negative events.
In one of the experiments, happy and sad participants were asked to judge the truth of urban myths and rumors and found that people in a negative mood were less likely to believe these statements.
People in a bad mood were also less likely to make snap decisions based on racial or religious prejudices, and they were less likely to make mistakes when asked to recall an event that they witnessed.
The study also found that sad people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Forgas said showed that a "mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodative and ultimately more successful communication style."
"Positive mood is not universally desirable: people in a negative mood are less prone to judgmental errors, are more resistant to eyewitness distortions（扭曲）and are better at producing high-quality, effective persuasive messages," Forgas wrote.
The study was published in the November/December edition of the Australian Science journal. The study suggests that when someone is in a bad mood, he ________.
| A．cares more about his surroundings | B．shows less concern about others |
| C．is willing to believe what he hears | D．is particular about everything |
Which of the following is connected with positive mood?
| A．Being careful. | B．New ideas. |
| C．Being stubborn. | D．Concentration. |
How did the researchers put the subjects in good or bad moods?
| A．By watching sports programs. |
| B．By thinking back on their past experience. |
| C．By listening to happy or sad stories. |
| D．By dealing with demanding situations. |
Which of the following statements is TURE according to the text?
| A．Positive mood contributes to better judgment. |
| B．Cheerful people were less likely to believe rumors. |
| C．People in a bad mood tend to make quick decisions. |
| D．Sad people remembered what they saw precisely. |
The author intends to convince us that __________.
| A．we should think positively and negatively |
| B．the Australian study is of practical value |
| C．Joseph Forgas made a great discovery |
| D．bad moods can actually be good for us |
New rules will let millions of Americans know where more of their food comes from．The law is known as COOL—Country of Origin Labeling．
American Congress first passed the law in 2002．Stores have had to label seafood by country of origin since 2005．But industry pressure delayed other requirements until last week．
Products that must now be labeled include fresh fruits and vegetables, muscle meats and some kinds of nuts．But the rules are complex, and many foods are excluded．For example, organ meats are free to be labeled．So are processed foods, including cooked or smoked food．
The United States has imported more and more food in recent years to save money and expand choices．Country-of-origin labeling has become more common lately but has still been limited in many stores．
Food safety is one reason why some shoppers pay close attention to where foods came from．For example, when a large number of people recently got sick from salmonella（沙门菌病）, officials blamed peppers from Mexico．Yet the last big food scare involved spinach （菠菜） grown in California．But labeling is also a way for people to know they are getting what they want．Some want to buy local foods or foods from a particular country．
The country-of-origin labeling law gives stores 30 days to correct any violations that are found．Stores and suppliers that are found to be deliberately violating the law could be fined 1000 dollars per violation．Federal inspectors are not to take action to enforce the law for six months to give time for an education campaign．
Some food safety activists say they are generally pleased with the law．They call it a good step that will give people more useful information．Why has more and more food been imported to the United States in recent years?
| A．Because it is economical and provides people with more choices． |
| B．Because the United States is short of food supply． |
| C．Because Americans need more and more food recently． |
| D．Because foreign food is of higher quality than native food． |
What’s the regulation in the new rules?
| A．Stores have to label food by its producing date from now on． |
| B．The country-of-origin labeling has to be marked on more food． |
| C．Stores have to label seafood by country of origin． |
| D．Labeling of food should include more useful information． |
The new rules of the country-of-origin labeling law will come into effect ______．
| A．right now | B．in a month |
| C．in three months | D．in half a year |
Consumers are more concerned about where foods came from because ______．
| A．they are curious about the country of the food origin |
| B．they are particular about the tastes of the food |
| C．they are concerned about food safety and want to get what they want |
| D．most of the shoppers are food safety activists themselves |
People say teenagers are no good．They make too much noise in shopping malls; they drive recklessly up and down America’s main streets; they carry chips on their shoulders as big as the Sears Tower．And at least some of the time those things are true．But we shouldn’t forget that there are hard moments in the life of a teenager too．
I watched such a moment not long ago at a woman’s funeral（葬礼）．I didn’t expect the event to affect me．Through much of the ceremony, in fact, I remained unmoved．
Then her teenage grandson stepped forward．With his very first deep breath, every heart in that church was achingly reminded of something we had all forgotten．Softly he began: “I want to share a few values that Nana taught me．She never failed to see light in any situation．When our family dog would literally attact her, what would Nana say? ‘Oh, what beautiful markings that dog has．’ That was Nana．
“She was a strong woman who often lived in the shadow of my grandpa, who was a successful businessman in this city．But she was the one behind the scenes who provided the strength and support for Grandpa’s career,” he said, with a voice now trembling．“That was Nana’s way．”
Through a muffled sob, he continued．“Whenever she did anything worth recognition, you’d have to hear about it from a different source, because she was never one to brag．”
Finally, in a voice breaking free of sorrow, he looked up and said, “Nana taught me courage．She put up an incredible fight to the end, when she died peacefully, which is how she lived her life．That was Nana’s way, and I hope I can carry on in the same manner．”
There are no hearts as sensitive as those of teenagers, because everything is happening to them for the first time．The trouble with teenagers is that they haven’t learned to be controlled．
When that boy rose to speak about the woman who surely had been his truest ally and est friend, his honest voice dragged each of us out into the open where we could no longer hide in the calm ritual．He exposed us to the truth about this very real woman who believed in a boy who probably tried the patience of many adults．He reminded us that his grandmother was more than another dot on the chart of life and death．
All over again we felt those powerful losses crisscrossing our own hearts, and we knew that when you say good-bye to a beloved grandparent, you say good-bye to something happy, something young in yourself．And that something never really returns, and the pain never really goes away．From the boy’s speech, we know his grandmother ____________．
| A．was a weak woman living in the shadow of his grandpa |
| B．liked dogs very much even if they often attacked her |
| C．could see everything around her though she was old |
| D．had great influence over the boy when she was alive |
According to the first paragraph, _____________．
| A．young people should keep quiet before the public |
| B．people don’t think highly of the teenagers |
| C．people shouldn’t forget the young people |
| D．young people are living a hard life |
The writer wanted to tell the readers ____________．
| A．the young people were too weak to face the fact |
| B．the young people had to learn to control themselves |
| C．the adults could learn something valuable from the young |
| D．the adults should teach the young how to deal with the death |
We can infer from the passage that the boy ___________．
| A．was filled with sadness and gave up finishing his talk |
| B．was always very good at expressing himself |
| C．practiced a lot in order to give a moving speech |
| D．had great difficulty in accepting the loss of Nana |
Nowadays, millions of lonely singles are now going online instead．The World Wide Web is quickly becoming the world’s most popular matchmaker（媒人）．
Singles are flocking（涌向）to the Internet mainly because their busy lifestyles leave them little time to look for a significant other．Using dating sites（约会网址）is quick and convenient．Many singles say the regular dating scene has just led them from one bad experience to another and are ready to try something else．Dating sites also make it easy to avoid someone you are not interested in．In the real world, however, ignoring someone you don’t like can be difficult．
Despite all the advantages, online dating also presents its own set of problems．People aren’t always those who they declare to be in their online description．Safety is another concern．You are just likely to find a criminal online as you are Mr．Or Miss Right．
Online dating experts recommend following a few safety tips:
Guard your personal information．Never give out your personal information online．This includes your last name, phone number, home address and place of work．
Watch for red flags．Do any of the people you are chatting with make disrespectful comments? Do they try to control you? Do they give false information about themselves? If so, forget them!
Meet in a safe place．When meeting someone in person, choose a public location with other people around．
Following these tips and you might be able to find the person of your dreams．The underlined words in the second paragraph “a significant other” mean “________”．
| A．a true friend | B．a matchmaker | C．a marriage partner | D．a happy family |
According to the passage, many lonely singles don’t appreciate the regular dating scene because it is
_________．
| A．unpopular | B．troublesome |
| C．convenient | D．forgettable |
From this passage, we can infer that ____________．
| A．there are mostly homely and unemployed people online |
| B．the police had better find criminals online |
| C．we can find love only through the dating sites |
| D．following safety tips ensures a safe online dating experience. |
Which of the following is NOT a suitable place for meeting someone you get to know through the Internet for the first time?
| A．At his / her house． | B．At the museum． |
| C．At McDonald’s． | D．At the bookstore． |
Students and Technology in the Classroom
I love my Blackberry—it’s my little connection to the larger world that can go anywhere with me．I also love my laptop computer，as it holds all of my writing and thoughts．Despite this love of technology, I know that there are times when I need to move away from these devices（设备） and truly communicate with others．
On occasion, I teach a course called History Matters for a group of higher education managers．My goals for the class include a full discussion of historical themes and ideas．Because I want students to thoroughly study the material and exchange their ideas with each other in the classroom, I have a rule —no laptops, iPads, phones, etc．When students were told my rule in advance of the class, some of them were not happy．
Most students assume that my reasons for this rule include unpleasant experiences in the past with students misusing technology．There’s a bit of truth to that．Some students assume that I am anti-technology．There’s no truth in that at all．I love technology and try to keep up with it so I can relate to my students．
The real reason why I ask students to leave technology at the door is that I think there are very few places in which we can have deep conversations and truly engage complex ideas．Interruptions by technology often break concentration and allow for too much dependence on outside information for ideas．I want students to dig deep within themselves for inspiration and ideas．I want them to push each other to think differently and to make connections between the course material and the class discussion．
I’ve been teaching my history class in this way for many years and the evaluations reflect student satisfaction with the environment that I create．Students realize that with deep conversation and challenge, they learn at a level that helps them keep the course material beyond the classroom．
I’m not saying that I won’t ever change my mind about technology use in my history class, but until I hear a really good reason for the change, I’m sticking to my plan．A few hours of technology-free dialogue is just too sweet to give up．Some of the students in the history class were unhappy with______．
| A．the course material | B．others’ misuse of technology |
| C．discussion topics | D．the author’s class regulations |
The underlined word “engage” in Para．4 probably means ______．
| A．explore | B．accept | C．change | D．reject |
According to the author, the use of technology in the classroom may ____．
| A．keep students from doing independent thinking |
| B．encourage students to have in-depth conversations |
| C．help students to better understand complex themes |
| D．affect students’ concentration on course evaluation |
It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the author ______．
| A．is quite stubborn |
| B．will give up teaching history |
| C．will change his teaching plan soon |
| D．values technology-free dialogues in his class |
Mapping Your World
Different forms of maps are appearing．They allow independent travelers to get local knowledge of places they are visiting, from the official to the unusual．Meanwhile, hi-tech developments are creating new ways for us to map the world．Here are two of our favorites：
Green Maps
Green Maps allows people to share with the world their knowledge of environmentally friendly places and attractions in the local areas．Users add information with a set of icons（图标）, making it easy to read any map, whatever the nationalities of those who produce it．At present there are over five hundred map projects being developed in 54 countries．Green Maps’ advertised idea is “think global, map local”．It is a wonderful way of gaining all sorts of information of a place, ranging from community gardens to good places of birdwatching．
Green Maps is not specifically intended for travelers．Not all of its maps are online, so it may be necessary for some users to communicate with the producers through the Green Maps website．
Maps Mashups
Many people use online maps developed by Google, but not many know about the mashups of them．Working in a similar way to Green Maps, Map Mashups allows people to add icons of their own to existing maps to express a certain topic．The mashups is so called because it combines all the knowledge you could ever need．It ranges from the extremely useful, such as where all the World Heritage Sites are, to the most bizarre （古怪的），such as where America’s drunkest cities are．With the mashups added to the basic Google Maps, a multi-layered （多层的） map can be created．According to the passage, which of the following is a characteristic of Green Maps?
| A．Introducing local attractions with icons |
| B．Aiming at environmental protection |
| C．Offering advice to independent travelers． |
| D．Collecting icons worldwide for local maps． |
Which of the following icons is most probably NOT used in Green Maps?
“Map Mashups” is named with the word “mashups” because．
| A．it is produced by users all over the world | B．it is a branch of Google Maps |
| C．it shares icons with Green Maps | D．it gathers various kinds of information |
What do Green Maps and Map Mashups have in common?
| A．They are created by local people． |
| B．They are environmentally friendly． |
| C．Users can edit maps on the Internet． |
| D．Users need to communicate with producers． |