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. |
What's the furthest you have ever cycled? Perhaps you cycle to school or to work, or maybe at most a short cycling trip with friends? How would you feel about spending months on the road travelling on your own from the UK to China, by bike?
For the British cyclist Pete Jones, camping in the wild and cycling long distances through inhospitable terrain are his second nature. An experienced explorer through places such as the Tianshan Mountains and the Tibetan Plateau, Mr. Jones is currently taking a great journey across the Eurasian continent from Britain to China.
Having lived on and off(断断续续地) in Xinjiang for three years, and having visited the country many times since 1992, Pete Jones is no stranger to China. But he says many people there are puzzled by his strong love for cycling, asking why he would choose to cycle when he can afford a car. Indeed, while there are about 400 million bicycles in China, where it has long been the preferred means of transport, rapid economic growth has caused an rapid development in car ownership.
Edward Genochio, another British cyclist who completed a 41,000km trip to China and back, said one of his goals was to "tell people cycling is a safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly means of getting about."
In the UK, the last few years have seen a rise in the number of people choosing two wheels over four, with some estimates(估计) saying the number of people cycling to work has almost doubled in the last five years.
Politicians also see cycling as a way to prove that they are concerned about the environment, with people such as London mayor Boris Johnson often riding to work by himself. But we may have to wait some time before we see him emulating(效仿) Pete Jones in attempting to cycle all the way to China.
68. From this passage we can know the following EXCEPT that _____.
A. Pete Jones has travelled through the Tianshan Mountains and the Tibetan Plateau
B. in the past few years more UK people have changed their means of transport to work
C. most Chinese people can understand why Pete Jones is so crazy about cycling
D. Edward Genochio is a cyclist from Britain who has been to China by riding a bike
69. We can infer from the passage that _____.
A. Pete Jones’s desire for cycling led to his staying in China for three years
B. now the number of Chinese people owning cars is larger than those owning bikes
C. London mayor Boris Johnson will emulate Pete Jones to cycle to China in the future
D. Both British common people and politicians see riding bikes as a good means of transport
70. The underlined phrase “inhospitable terrain” in the second paragraph most probably means
______.
A. places where you can find modern cities B. places that are unsuitable for people to live in
C. places where there are many people D. places that are far away from modern cities
71. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Pete Jones has come to China many times by riding the bicycle.
B. More Chinese people own private cars as a result of economic growth.
C. More British people prefer bicycles as they can’t afford to drive now.
D. Before long, more people will ride bicycles to China following Pete and Edward.
A volcaniceruptioninIcelandhassentashacrossnorthernEurope. Airlines have stopped or changedtheflightsacrosstheAtlanticOcean,leavinghundredsofpassengersstuckinairports.
Grimsvotnisoneofthelargestandmostactivevolcanoes in Europe. What makes Grimsvom different is that it lies under a huge glacier(冰川) of ice up to 12 meters thick. The hot volcano heats up the ice above it, which then forms a layer(层) of water between the glacier and the volcano. This layer of water puts pressure on the volcano, keeping it still. As the water flows out from under the glacier, the pressure lifts. The lava(岩浆) from the volcano then comes up to the surface. This is exactly what happened today.
Now, airlines have to make changes to their flights so as not to fly through the clouds of volcanic ash. According to KLM, one of Europe's biggest airlines, airplanes cannot go under the cloud or over it. Going through the cloud can result in ash getting stuck in the airplane's engines, causing damage to the plane.
The eruption has also caused problems for animals in Iceland. The volcano left ash and sharp,
glass-like rocks all over the countryside. Farmers are keeping their animals inside to stop them
from eating ash-covered grass or the sharp object. w_
64. What makes Grimsvotn different from other volcanoes?
A. It is below ice. B. It lies under the sea.
C. It is the largest volcano. D. Its lava affects the airlines.
65. _____ keeps Grimsvotn still.
A. The slow flow of water B. The low water temperature
C. The thick glacier D. The water pressure
66. Which of the following is the result of the volcanic eruption?
A. People stop traveling in Europe. B. Airlines suffer from the loss of planes.
C. It is dangerous for animals to eat out. D. Farmers have lost many of their animals.
67. This text is most probably taken from_____.
A. a research paper B. a newspaper report
C. a class duty report D. a geography textbook
Everyone knows the smart black-and-white dog that sits on top of a red doghouse with his best friend ---- a bird called Woodstock.
Created by the American cartoonist Charles Schulz in 1950, the clever dog is loved by generations of kids and adults. He speaks more than 20 languages and appears daily in 26,000 newspapers around the world.
When Snoopy first appeared, he was no different from other pet dogs. But two years later, he had begun to speak in thought bubbles with simple words and sounds. By 1957 he could walk on two legs and was going to school with his master, Charlie Brown, who fails at just about everything. Later he learned to use the typewriter.
Snoopy has done lots of jobs. He has been a bow-tie wearing lawyer, a tennis player, an Olympic figure skater, a world famous grocery checkout clerk, a pilot and even the first astronaut on the moon.
However, Snoopy has always dreamed of being a famous writer. The beginning of his story is always, “It was a dark and stormy night…” Unfortunately for him no one has ever wanted to publish the story.
In love, Snoopy is as much of a failure as Charlie Brown is at baseball. He easily falls in love but always has his heart broken. He eats to forget, but it never works.
Snoopy is an insightful(有洞察力的), feel-good and sometimes sad dog. If you think a little about his words, you might find them full of life lessons. Among his most famous lines are “To live is to dance, to dance is to live.” And “Yesterday I was a dog. Today I’m a dog. Tomorrow I’ll probably still be a dog. Sigh! There’s so little hope for advancement.”
60. From the passage, we can learn that ________.
A. Snoopy is always a sad dog
B. Snoopy can't speak in the beginning
C. Snoopy often dreams of true love
D. Snoopy is a real smart pet dog
61. Snoopy has done all the following jobs EXCEPT ________.
A. a lawyer B. a player C. a clerk D. a writer
62. It can be inferred that Snoopy ________.
A. has many bird friends and relatives B. is a well-known writer and clerk
C. has been unfortunate since it was born D. is very popular in the whole world
63. The underlined word “advancement” in the last paragraph probably means ________.
A. success B. progress C. growth D. popularity
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A straight-A student got a C in cooking class and didn't like it. She didn't like it so much that her dad filed a complaint in court about it. He says that the teacher, who is white, discriminated against（歧视） his daughter, who is black. He hopes to have her grade changed from a C to an A and asks for uncertain ecnomic damages.
Virginia Brown is in the ninth grade at Ashley High School. Since her first year in school, she has had perfect attendance and all her grades have been A's. Virginia's father said her heart was broken when she got the C.
"She cried the whole weekend," he said. "She wouldn't come out of her room. Her eyes were
red and puffy. My little girl hasn’t been this upset since her cat got killed by a car when she was 6 years old."
Virginia is a model student. She's the class monitor. She's on the swim team, the volleyball team, and the track team. She also goes to the chess club. She is a member of the Girl Scouts and sings in her church choir.
The home economics teacher is 28-year-old Jessica Smith. This is her first year teaching. Ms. Smith said that discrimination was clearly not the truth. “Some of my best friends are African-Americans," she said. “This isn’t a black and white problem. Everybody in America wants to sue（控告） everybody else. I’m going to sue them for defamation（诽谤） of character and whatever else my lawyer comes up with.”
56. Mr. Brown was upset because ________.
A. his daughter did a poor job in cooking class
B. he was not satisfied with Ms. Smith’s work
C. he thought the teacher looked down on his daughter
D. he was afraid his daughter couldn’t go to a good university
57.According to the passage, which of the following statements is WRONG?
A.Virginia Brown is an excellent student.
B.Ms. Smith is an experienced teacher.
C.Virginia Brown feels sad about the grade.
D.The father isn't happy with the teacher.
58. Ms. Smith was _____ about Mr. Brown’s accusation(指控).
A. worried B. angry C. calm D. afraid
59. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A. Black Girl Discriminated by White Teacher
B. Straight-A Girl Poor at Cooking
C. School Girl Puts Her Teacher to Court
D. Students And Teachers Are Equal
While shell-like roofs, unlike anything else in the world, make the Sydney Opera House an image of timeless beauty. It is famous for being a symbol, not only of a city, but a whole country and condition too.
Its creator, Danish architect Jorn Utzon , turned 85 last Wednesday. And he was awarded the Prizker Prize, known
as the Nobel Prize of Architecture, on April 6. But Utzon has never seen his Opera House.
The story began in 1957 when Utzon won an international competition to design an opera house in Sydney.
But not everyone was enthusiastic (热心的 ) . Utzon left his Opera project in 1966 after an argument with the local government and a storm of public criticism over the building’s design. It was not completed until seven years later and Utzon has never returned to Australia to see the result of his work.
“Utzon made a building well ahead of its time, and he persevered (坚持) through criticism to build a building that changed the image of an entire country,” said Frank Gehry, a Pritzer Architecture Prize judge.
Although the Sydney Opera House was Utzon’s masterpiece, it damaged his career. Upon his return to Denmark, he found work hard to come by , so he become a teacher at a university in Hawaii.
Utzon said he once saw posters of the Opera House. The interiors were different from his design. But, he said, “There is no regret, for it gave me such a wonderful experience in Australia and towards which I only have love and appreciation .”
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth opened the Opera House in 1973, and it now holds around 3000 events every year. It is recognized as one of the great symbolic buildings of the 20th century.
60. The Sydney Opera House was completed_____.
A. in 1957 B. in 1906 C. in 1973 D. in 1980
61. Utzon has never seen his Opera House because _______.
A. it has white shell-like roofs, unlike anything else in the world
B. its creator is Danish architect, who returned to Denmark
C. he was not awarded the Pritzker Prize, known as the Nobel Prize of Architecture
D. he argued with the local government and was criticized over his design
62. The underlined word “come by” in Paragraph 6 means ______.
A. find B. pass C. hire D. develop